Journal of Economics - Obsahy ročníkov

In general, the paper deals with population forecasting. Selected extrapolation methods are used for the case of NUTS III regions in Slovakia. Main aim is to verify how reliable they can be with respect to recent demographic and socio economic processes in Slovakia after 1989 within transformation. We have presupposed linkages among demographical and socio-economical changes and curves; there-fore, we have attempted to verify how fluctuation, rapid changes during last decade, and reduction of these fluctuations influence the accuracy of the models. There seems to be a strong linkage between demographic and socio-economic systems. Stability of the demographic one is higher although influenced by fluctuations of the economical ones. There is no doubt that the rapid demographic change will influence features such as retirement system in the future. It is necessary to know how populous and old will be the Slovak population and subnational ones. The more accurate will be the results, the more suitable for economists and planners. Keywords: forecasts, extrapolation, reliability, accuracy, demographic change, socio-economic development JEL Classification: J11

This paper analyses development of the private R&D system in Slovakia after 1989. In 1990s, Slovakia experienced a painful economic transition, privatization and influx of the foreign direct investment. These developments were major factors behind sharp fall in R&D spending and levels of innovativeness. Moreover, Slovakia became a dual economy. Branch-plants of multinational companies benefited from technology diffusion and accounted for high productivity levels. Domestic companies generated low demand on innovative solutions and competed with low costs of production. There, however, were some ‘islands of excellence’. This was a case of the Zentiva pharmaceutical firm, which accounted for a distinctive system of R&D and innovation patterns. The Zentiva case study is analysed via patters of corporate governance, entry of a smart foreign investor and firm’s international expansion. Concluding chapter summarises findings on role of FDI in fostering innovations and private R&D. Keywords: dual economy; private R&D, innovation policy JEL Classification: O31, O32, O33

The study analyzes the potential impact of implementation of the Lisbon strategy on Slovenian economic performance. The focus of our work is the recommendation of the strategy that the EU members should invest three per cent of their GDP in research and development (R&D). We analyze this recommendation using comparative descriptive analysis and a simulation of research output with neural networks. On the example of Slovenia we show that Lisbon targets, especially the goal of investing 3 per cent of GDP in R&D, are not necessarily a part of an efficient economic policy. There is no necessary connection between increases in R&D spending and economic efficiency. Investments in R&D are strongly related to interactions between the research sector and businesses and depend on the structure of both sectors. Decisions about investing in applied R&D should be left to market players while economic policy makers should do their best to support R&D activities through structural reforms. This policy pre-scription applies primarily for transition countries. Keywords: research and development, economic policy, transition, science-bu-siness relations JEL Classifications: C15, C45, O15, O32, P36

The paper contains a specific exchange rate model in the long run for the transitive economies where the key postulates of the established models such as Purchasing Power Parity, Uncovered Interest Rate Parity Condition and Monetary Approach seem to be slightly modified. The model is based on so called “convergence gap” which is determined by number of real factors both quantitative and qualitative. Under the conditions of transitive economies the exchange rates are systematically deviated from the parity. The deviation is a function of the convergence gap. The exchange rate of transitive economy is therefore function of convergence gap, domestic price level and foreign price level. Since the convergence gap generally reflects the institutional structure of economy, the exchange rate is also function of legal and institutional aspects. The theoretical consequences and practical implications of this definition are discussed in the presented article. Keywords: exchange rate behavior, purchasing power parity, uncovered interest rate parity condition, monetary approach to the exchange rate, real and nominal convergence, institutional approach to the convergence JEL Classification: F41, F31

The paper is concerned with the life and works of French classical economist Jean-Baptiste Say. First section outlines the life of Jean-Baptiste Say. Second section analyzes his “Treatise on Political Economy“(1803). Third section dis-cusses Say’s Law of Markets. Forth section deals with the Keynes’ interpretation of Say. Fifth section highlights Say’s actual legacy, especially his opinions on taxation and public debt. Keywords: Jean-Baptiste Say, history of economic thought, Law of Markets, John Maynard Keynes JEL Classification: B12

Around the Regulation Theory those current French economists have concentrated, who have emphasized the importance of rules and social relations in the analysis of the functioning of an economy (the rules for wage setting, forms of competition among firms, monetary relations). This theory represents the stream of economic thoughts, according to which the regulation mode in the society varies over time. Its ambition is not to create a new theory of general laws of the functioning of the market and mixed economy, but to capture their variability over time and space. After the regulation based on the competition, which domi-nated until the 1929 – 1933 depression, the Fordist type of regulation followed, which hit the crisis in 70-ties of 20th century. Currently the School has been try-ing to specify basic features of the regulation mode corresponding to the condi-tions of the globalization and the New Economy. Keywords: regulation, type of accumulation, institutional forms, wage relation-ship, money, competition, state, international relations JEL Classifications: B41, B52, F41, F36