Publications - Conference Proceedings

The conference „Labour market in the Slovak Republic after the EMU accession", has been prepared by the Institute of Economic Research SAS together with the Department of Social Development and Labour of the University of Economics in Bratislava. To the business community the conference has brought new knowledge from the field of labour market, employment and social sphere. The results of researchers of particular VEGA projects, but also the opinions of other specialists in the abovementioned fields were presented during the conference. The conference was a proble into the foregoing complicated time period. Since 2004, i. e. from the biggest enlargement of the EU in its history,the world economy, the economy of the EU and also the economy of Slovakia have undergone the dynamic development, that resulted in the economic and financial crisis of 2008. The repercussions of the crisis were expressed with the highest intensity first of all in the increase of indebtedness of several European countries with negative implications for the stability of euro and employment. At the beginning of economic and financial crisis the euro´s adoption in Slovakia was evaluated by business and political circles mostly highly positively, but gradually in time the negative evaluations resulting from the necessity to subsidize the common currency have appeared. Even the existence of the euro as the common European currency is questioned. The arguments result from the situation in the new member states, that retained their national currencies and that by their own monetary policies were able to better adapt to the crisis (for example Poland decreased unemployment rate and the long-term unemployment rate).

In the comming years the increase of competition on a global scale will have even a greater impact on the Slovak economy and its labour market. Under the conditions of Slovak republic the fulfilling the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy will be more difficult, for example in the increase of employment rate and above all in the decraese of long- term unemployment rate that is the highest among the all EU countries. It is the process characterized with specific phases of crisis - from the financial to the debt crisis. In this relation it is crucial that income inequalities deepen, that has consequences on the labour market. The next phase of the economic crisis with the high probability will lead to the reduction of consumption and consequently also to reduction of productive capacities. How this consecutiveness and relations would express themselves in the Slovak labour market is questionable. It is a reality, that the Slovak pruduction potential is represented first of all by the transnational corporations (in relation the the GDP), that will solve the problems with the capacities and employment rather elsewhere than in their mother countries.

The organizers of the conference are persuaded that this collection of proceedings of the conference is very valuable for professionals in Slovakia as it contains the precious evaluation of the challenging period of the Slovak labour market and it also comprises ideas, how to solve the accumulated problems.

At the same time the organizers of the conference are aware of the fact, that reduction of unemployment and specifically long- term unemplyoment will call for the further research and also for the change of previous approaches to the economic policy and specific labour market policies.