Journal of Economics - Obsahy ročníkov

We analyse Slovak imports and exports of selected agro-food commodities between 1996 and 2005. The analysis includes the EU-15, selected new member states and candidate countries (Romania, Bulgaria), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the USA and the rest of world (ROW). We show that dynamic panel data models are appropriate tools for modelling of agricultural trade flows. We find positive effects of the accession to the EU on Slovak agro-food export flows to the EU-15 and other regions, while Slovak agro-food imports show lower growth dynamic. Thus, the agricultural and food processing sectors in Slovakia have benefited from the gradual liberalization of the agro-food trade after the EU enlargement. Keywords: agro-food trade, EU enlargement, dynamic panel data models JEL Classification: C23, F15, F14

The paper investigates revealed comparative advantages and competitiveness of Hungarian and Slovenian agro-food trade in the three main European Union markets between 1993 and 2003. The Balassa index indicates that both countries have lost comparative advantage for a number of product groups over time. Results show that in Hungarian two-way agro-food trade the prevalence is on successful price competition and on successful quality competition. In Slovenian two-way agro-food trade the prevalence is on unsuccessful price competition and unsuccessful quality competition. The tests for consistency associations between revealed comparative advantages and competitiveness measures confirm similarities and differences in the results. Keywords: revealed comparative advantage, competition, agro-food trade JEL Classification: F14, F23, L66, Q17, 052

This article examines corruption trends in a sample of more than a hundred countries. In first part it documents that approximately 30 countries and three regions have significant corruption trends, τ, measured by Kendall’s. Regarding the main regions in the world, corruption is increasing in Africa and in post-communist Europe as well, while the countries in the Orient are becoming less corrupt. The residuals from a standard corruption model show systematic variation that corresponds to the meagre information available on social capital. For a sub-sample of 22 European countries some social capital data are available, measured as generalised trusts scores. The article document that the main force driving the variation in corruption trend sis underlying trends in social capital. In practical level is problem of corruption brought to the concrete economic-political conjunctions. Recent advances in social capital research imply that curbing income inequality and investing in education, overall institutional quality and political stability could result in more trusting populations. Keywords: corruption, corruption trends, institutional economics, generalised trust, social capital JEL Classification: B25 B53 D72 D73

Submitted article presents macroeconomic analysis of motivating global framework for using preferential regional trade agreements (RTAs) as preferred foreign trade policy instruments of the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries. Their surge has continued unabated since the early 1990s. There were some 200 in 2004 and by the end of 2006 the total number of RTAs in force might well overflow 300. Author focuses on selected issues related to a RTAs pro-liferation and a changing impacts as well as influence of RTAs in comparison with multilateral trading system, in the context of ongoing globalisation tendencies within the world economy. Keywords: preferential regional trade agreements, free trade agreements, customs union agreements, services agreements JEL Classification: F02, F13, F15

The process of the globalization is an important phenomenon of the last decades. Globalization helps to intensify the process of the international division of the labour. On the other side, it stimulates an increase of the international capital movement. Traditional arguments toward the broad capital flows liberalization emphasize the growth benefits. But it is rather inconclusive to measure an exact contribution to economic growth. At the same time the financial liberalization may lead to the higher macroeconomic aggregates volatility. There is also some evidence about benefits of the capital flows liberalization on the microeconomic level that shows the distortionary effects of the capital controls. In the paper we analyze the economic aspects of the capital flows liberalization, in terms of growth and volatility of the macroeconomic aggregates. Keywords: capital flows liberalization, financial integration, economic growth, volatility of macroeconomic aggregates, financial crises, developing countries JEL Classification: F15, F36

The main reason for this work is to present the research findings in the SME field. The principal view point is to identify and describe the endogenous factors, which characterize standard business behaviour in a chosen region. The analysis is based on a statistic data analysis on a descriptive level, representing the quantita-tive research area as well as multidimensional statistic methods in qualitative re-search area, using Principal Components Analysis (PCA). Based on findings of the empirical study, conclusions are made by means of synthesis of bibliographical sources and results of the individual factor research defining barriers in the SME sector, especially emphasizing internal factors (under an active influence of a business unit). The VRIO strategic method of internal business analysis has been used to classify and interpret the established factors as a source for strategy planning and directing it to be more competitive in a globalized business environment. Keywords: internal factors, factor analysis, SME, VRIO method JEL Classification: M13, C42