Journal of Economics - Obsahy ročníkov

Relationship between income inequality and economic growth is ambiguous one but most mainstream economists view real income increase as a drag of economic growth as it leads to higher labor cost, lower competitiveness and reduction of employment. In this study we provide an alternative view and show that labor income increase may have also positive effect on growth. Which of these two effects dominates in a particular country depends on institutional and legal environment of that country, its macroeconomic conditions and also its economic policies. We test empirically two distinct economies – a small, very open economy of Slovakia and a large, closed economy of the Euro area. We find that in equilibrium, both economies are wage-led on average in the period 1993 – 2017 and hence it appears to be beneficial to pursue policies that would reduce income inequality. Keywords: inequality, wage led growth, profit led growth, Slovakia JEL Classification: E12, E25, E60

The aim of this paper is to determine potential factors that may influence export sophistication index for both developed and developing countries. The present study calculated export sophistication values for selected developed and developing countries using a specific index (EXPY) proposed by Hausmann, Hwang and Rodrik (2007). Second-generation panel data analyses were subsequently performed to examine determinants of export sophistication index and whether selected developing countries are able to converge to developed countries. Empirical findings reveal that there exists a positive relationship between export sophistication index and foreign direct investments, total domestic savings, educational and research and development (R&D) expenditures. Particularly, the estimation results of the present study also indicate that two developing countries, namely, Malaysia and Romania are able to converge to developed countries in terms exporting performance, whereas Turkey and Bulgaria cannot achieve to converge to developed countries. As a result, developing countries should concentrate on improving their export sophistication index to converge to developed countries. Keywords: export sophistication, second-generation panel data analysis, economic growth, convergence, developing country; JEL Classification: F14, O47, O57

This paper aims to extend the knowledge of the relationship between within-couple income distribution and partners’ financial satisfaction, using data from the EU-SILC 2013 for 15 European countries, for the first time including data from Eastern Europe. We find that men’s preferences typically concur with the “traditional” male-breadwinner family model, as husband’s satisfaction decreases with a larger female share of household income. In contrast, in nine countries, men’s satisfaction actually increases at the point where they are substantially out-earned by their wives, but this concerns only a small fraction of couples. Women in half of the countries tend to prefer a single-income scheme with either partner being the breadwinner, but again we stress that this matters mainly in extreme situations, while a tendency towards egoistic preferences favouring a larger personal share of household income predominates otherwise. We find that women prefer the traditional male-breadwinner model in only four countries. Keywords: financial satisfaction, gender, household economics, traditional model; JEL Classification: D13, D31, I31

The paper addresses bank governance and efficiency in an integrated manner, providing new findings and insight for future policy. The analysis gravitates around a representative set of financial institutions, comprising of all the Global Systemically Important Financial Institutions currently monitored by the European Banking Association. The empirical study had been developed on several complementary stages. Firstly, we applied a non-parametric approach to compute the technical efficiency which indirectly measures banks’ managerial efficiency in conducting the banking business. Secondly, we performed a panel data regression to uncover whether banks’ managerial efficiency is determined by boards of directors characteristics in terms of size, independence and gender diversity. Thirdly, we employed a panel data regression with fixed effects to assess if managerial efficiency and board’s features have an impact on several bank-level and banking system-level financial indicators. The findings show that managerial efficiency and banking indicators are determined by boards’ characteristics. Keywords: corporate governance, management efficiency, GSIFIs, Data Envelop-ment Analysis, panel regression; JEL Classification: C23, C61, G21, G32

The paper investigates the motives for deposit and credit euroization in Eastern Europe employing Bayesian empirical methodology. We analyse an extensive dataset of macroeconomic fundamentals, perception surveys and institutional quality indicators, and deal with the uncertainty in the model by Bayesian model averaging. Apart from traditional fundamental macroeconomic factors, strong institutions are found to be an important driver of both credit and deposit euroization. Business regulation, perception of corruption, quality of political arrangement and trade restrictions impact borrowing and saving behaviour in the euro and should be reflected in designing economic policies in the region. Keywords: euroization, Bayesian model averaging, currency substitution, foreign currency borrowing, institutional quality; JEL Classification: E51, F02, P24