Journal of Economics - Obsahy ročníkov

This paper evaluates the impact of two active labour market measures providing financial contributions to cover costs related to spatial mobility of the unemployed. One supports daily commuting and the other resettlement. For the purpose of evaluation, administrative data from the obligatory social insurance database and the official register of the unemployed were linked. Three indicators of outcome are identified, commuting time, the income of individuals and employment after the end of support. The richness of the data allowed us to use propensity score matching in order to rule out possible selectivity issues. After achieving satisfactory balance, we have yielded comprehensive and robust, significant positive effects of both of the measures under evaluation. The estimated impact differs regionally and is based on the individual characteristics of the beneficiaries. Keywords: spatial mobility, propensity score matching, counterfactual impact evaluation, active labour market policy JEL Classification: J61, J68, D04, C21

This article examines the behaviour and responses of stock market indices to various macroeconomic determinants by using small scale Bayesian VAR model. Our objective is to investigate the extent to which various macroeconomic shocks contribute to changes in stock market conditions. We focus on the German DAX 30 index and British FTSE 100 indices which serve as indicators for the development of the German and British economy as well as an illustration to evaluate the performance of the model. We have confirmed the general view that BVAR model outperforms a standard VAR model when the forecasting accuracy improved from 5% to 12%. We have also confirmed that any increase in risk-premium negatively influences stock markets in both case studies. However, the structure of the economies and capital also makes a difference, as found from different market reactions to supply shock. Keywords: Bayesian VAR, forecasting, stock market indices JEL Classification: C51, G11, G15

The reform of the tax system in Slovakia is a part of a complex reform of taxes and levies in the Slovak Republic. The tax reform was supposed to contribute to public finance improvement, but its progress is accompanied by many problems and refusal by professional public. The objective of the analysis is to contribute to the enrichment of knowing the tax system reform in the Slovak Republic from the point of its perception and evaluation by the main players affected i.e. business entities and authorities of financial administration. The study represents the first analysis of the reform of the tax system in the Slovak Republic which is based on information obtained from business entities and workers of financial administration. The data obtained using questionnaire-based method from the respondents is analysed and processed using mathematical and statistical methods at the level of descriptive statistics. The factor analysis was used to extract factors describing six indicators of the tax system evaluation: the presented extracted and subsequently verified factor structure of the tax system evaluation represents a new view on the relevant issue. Keywords: financial administration, reform of the tax system, reform of financial administration, perception, taxes JEL Classification: E62, H29

The aim of the paper is to evaluate, through panel data dynamic models, the effects of structural public balance adjustment on relative poverty in 16 Eurozone countries from 2005 till 2013. The estimates are conducted by using the mean group (MG), the pooled mean group (PMG) and the dynamic fixed effects (DFE) estimators. The first two yield estimates of the long-run coefficients without the implausible assumption of identical dynamics in each country allowing to detect a stable relationship even in presence of reduced explanatory variables. They all – through the error correction form – allow for considering the relation between the variables in their level and the dynamic of adjustment in the short-run. All the techniques generate outcomes supporting the conclusion that fiscal re-trenchments increase relative poverty both in the short and in the long-run. Keywords: relative poverty, fiscal consolidation, Eurozone, dynamic panel data JEL Classification: I32, E62, C23

The aim of this empirical study is to evaluate the influence of the interde-pendence of cross-border mergers and acquisitions and the quality of the insti¬tutional setting on GDP per capita using dynamic panel data analysis for 22 European transition countries from 2000 to 2014. Our empirical results suggest that current cross-border mergers and acquisitions have a negative effect on GDP per capita in the year of merger or acquisition, but the influence of their lagged level has a strong positive effect one year later. All governance indicators are found to have a signi¬ficant effect on GDP per capita while the only significant interaction term between cross-border mergers and acquisitions and control of corruption is negative. This implies that the higher level of cross-border mergers and acquisitions with its negative impact offset the positive effect of control of corruption on economic growth in current period. Keywords: cross-border mergers and acquisitions; institutional setting; GDP per capita; transition countries JEL Classification: E22; F21; F23; O52

The aim of our paper is threefold: 1. to examine consumers´ ethnocentric tendencies in dairy product category; 2. to investigate how demographic variables (age, gender, income and education) influence ethnocentric tendencies, and 3. to explore the impact of ethnocentrism on the willingness to buy domestic products. A sample of 265 respondents was employed in the research to collect the empirical data. To explore the impact of demographic variables on ethnocentrism in Slovak population and to prove the interaction hypotheses, one-way ANOVA tests and linear regression model were employed. The results of the research indicate that consumer ethnocentricity is a significant factor that should be taken into account in creating promotional campaigns for dairy products. Keywords: ethnocentrism, country of origin, buying behaviour JEL Classification: M30