Journal of Economics - Obsahy ročníkov

his paper presents “micro” results of empirical analysis of 1,235 individual publication records of 1,230 economists in the Czech Republic retrieved from international databases Web of Science and EconLit for the period 1994 – 2003. Publication portfolio described by research publication flows from particular institutions to particular journals is provided. Algorithms of weighted and not-weighted rankings of institutions by research performance are proposed and applied on Czech data. Keywords: impact factor, lexicographic ordering, publication portfolio, ranking JEL Classification: A11, A14, P20

The paper examines long-term and short-term relationships among exchange rates of the Visegrad countries’ national currencies vis-à-vis euro. Cointegration tests, vector error correction models and Granger causality tests are applied on daily nominal exchange rates. The results suggest that long-term link-ages are very rare. The only relevant long-term linkage was identified between Polish zloty and Slovak koruna during the period of EU membership. The short-term relationships proved to be significant more often. However, their frequency and intensity have been decreasing during the period analysed. This can be considered as the evidence of diminishing sovereignty of the national currencies and their ability to influence development of other currencies. Keywords: exchange rate, cointegration, error correction model, Granger causality test, Visegrad countries JEL Classifications: F31, F36

In the article, we review recent literature on fiscal sustainability with particular reference to problems that are specific to transition countries. While the original literature on fiscal sustainability is chiefly focused on industrial countries there are by now few works that have focused on fiscal sustainability in transition countries. Consequently, the article’s purpose is to assess the short-, medium- and long-term sustainability of fiscal policy (under set assumptions) on the national level in the great majority of transition countries which we divide into three main groups, i.e. Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Southern and Eastern Europe (SEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Based on the mainstream theory measures of fiscal sustainability, the results indicate that fiscal sustainability seems to be a problem in many transition countries, particularly in the Visegrad group countries (in CEE region) and in Albania and Croatia (in SEE region). Keywords: transition, public sector, fiscal policy, sustainability, forecasting JEL Classification: E17, H50, H68, P35

An overall assessment of economic development of the country is to be based not only on the gross domestic product, which is considered as the most important indicator, but on the comprehensive system of indicators which show different aspects of economic life. These indicators are contained in the system of national accounts. The article explains and analyses the national income which takes into account net outflow of primary incomes from the country, net domestic product (GDP less consumption of fixed capital) and indicators of real income which are influenced by the changes in the terms of trade. Indicators of final consumption, disposable income and savings of households are taken as proxy for the characteristics of welfare. The development of the Czech economy in the period 1995 – 2005 can be assessed differently by using different indicators. The formation of economic policy needs integrated picture based also on alternative indicators. Keywords: gross domestic product, national income, real incomes, final consumption, disposable income, savings, national accounting JEL Classifications: D31, E01, E21, O11

The article examines circumstances under which a corruption is harmful from an economic point of view and explores potential instruments to decrease corruption. Even though acts of corruption are generally voluntary exchanges, they are usually not social optimal because of presence of negative externalities. The conditions under which they would be socially optimal are extremely rare in real life. The article identifies three anticorruption strategies: decreasing benefits of corruption, increasing costs of corruption and increasing probability of uncovering corruption. It focuses in particular on measure to equalize supply and demand or ones that decrease discretion. Keywords: bureaucracy, administrative processes in public organizations, corruption, externalities, informal economy, underground economy JEL Classifications: D73, D62, E26