Journal of Economics - Obsahy ročníkov

This study examines the real GDP convergence of EU Member States. It adds to the abundance of conditional convergence studies by utilizing a unit root test with up to two structural breaks, finding that the crisis has not stopped the long-run convergence within the EU. Differing from similar studies, we discriminate between up and down breaks in the convergence process, and apply the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test to identify variables that are coincidental with these shifts. Convergence accelerations are characterized by nominal exchange rate and unit labour cost changes, while slowdowns are followed by investment shocks. The importance of external trade is particularly emphasized during convergence accelerations. Several different robustness checks leave these findings quite intact. Keywords: output convergence, European integration, unit root test, structural break JEL Classification: C22, O47, O52, R12

The EU Cohesion Policy requires the interaction of the public, private and non-profit sectors in policy making. The Czech Republic presents an ideal case study for identifying the major obstacles to the successful implementation of this approach since Czech citizens evaluate Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in their country as having less capacity to influence policies at the lowest level than NGOs in any other EU member state. The goal of the study is to identify and explain the determinants of success and failure regarding NGOs’ participation in designing public programmes. The methodology includes a combination of in-depth interviews with NGO representatives and public servants, a review of official documents, a focus group, and a stakeholders’ review of the study’s conclusions. The main obstacles to the implementation of the partnership principle are the following: NGOs’ insufficient capacities and responsibilities; fluctuations in the participation of public servants and NGO representatives; dependence of partnership on personal contacts; NGOs’ late entry and the non-consultative, informative character of the partnership. Keywords: Cohesion Policy, non-governmental organisations, participation, partnership principle, The Czech Republic JEL Classification: H11, L31, D73

The paper attempts to examine if there is any convergence toward Gibrat’s law over time for the sample of Czech manufacturing firms over the time period of 2007 – 2015. Firstly, the validity of Gibrat’s law over the entire period from 2007 to 2015 was investigated separately for two samples – for large companies and for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The validity of Gibrat’s law was tested via the linear regression model with the first-order autoregressive process. While for large firms, there was found no relationship between firm size and firm growth, for the sample of SMEs Gibrat’s law was rejected. Secondly, we tested for both samples if there is any convergence toward Gibrat’s law over time. There is convergence toward Gibrat’s law over time for the sample of SMEs. Keywords: Gibrat’s law, firm size, firm growth, manufacturing, linear regression model JEL Classification: L11, L26

Longevity risk, the risk that people will live longer than expected, weighs heavily on those who run pension schemes and on insurers that provide annuities. Hence the prediction of future mortality rates is an issue of fundamental importance for the insurance and pensions industry. Our analysis focuses on mortality at higher ages (65 – 95), given our interest in pension-related applications where the risk associated with longer-term cash flow is primarily linked to uncertainty in future rates of mortality. We use data on deaths and exposures for the The Visegrad Group (V4) – the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia from the Human Mortality Database (HMD). We have shown that if the today rate of increase will continue, it will at age 65 concluded (after calculation) to increase the present value of pension liabilities in defined-benefit schemes about 5% if we use cohort life table instead of period life table. Keywords: longevity risk, annuity, stochastic mortality, life table, Lee-Carter model JEL Classifications: C53, G22, J11, J32

In this paper we investigate the position of agriculture in the economy of EU countries. Agriculture in the EU is highly heterogeneous – we characterise the sector by using the share of agriculture workers of total employment, the share of agriculture in total GDP, and the value added in agriculture per worker. To quantify the economic importance of agriculture per country for acquired specific condition, we construct the Agricultural Index-Total (AGRIT) and Agricultural Index (AGRI). We utilize the fuzzy set theory to contribute to the correct quantification of a country gap from the aimed-for condition of agricultural position. Using cluster analysis, we identify those countries with a similar position in agriculture. We test the efficacy of EU agrarian policy with the verification of sigma and beta convergence. The Eurostat database provides data for the evaluated 2005 – 2015 period. Keywords: agriculture position, cluster analysis, beta convergence, fuzzy membership function JEL Classification: A11, O13, Q19