Ekonomický časopis - Obsahy ročníkov

While policy reaction functions of most major central banks are routinely approximated by fitting Taylor (type) rules to their policy rate, there is no such consensus for the People’s Bank of China (PBoC). What makes it hard to get a clear impression of the “true” reaction function is that most papers in the extensive literature focus on a single aspect of the reaction function typically mostly comparing it to one (or a few) widely used baseline models. Contrarily, we assess a broad range of questions regarding the reaction function in a unified approach, estimating several hundred reaction functions. While we find that no single policy measure fully captures all aspects of the PBoC’s policy, our paper provides clear evidence for asymmetric behavior, support for an important role of monetary aggregates. There is robust evidence that the PBoC includes objectives beyond price and business cycle stabilization; more specifically, there is robust evidence that it responds to financial stability, considers its own macroprudential policy by flanking it with cushioning monetary policies, and stabilizes the exchange rate.

This investigation examines the reciprocal connection between energy-related uncertainty (EUI) and carbon trading prices (CTP). Empirical results indicate that EUI can positively affect CTP. This positive impact confirms that high EUI prompts businesses to increase demand for carbon emissions permits to cope with energy market risks, ultimately driving up CTP. The intertemporal capital asset pricing framework explains the findings. Conversely, the relationship between EUI and CTP is beneficial and detrimental, demonstrating that ongoing carbon market development contributes to energy market stabilisation and lowers EUI. However, disputes over energy supply and demand can undermine this effect. Within sustainable development, these findings contribute to governments employing EUI to indicate the effectiveness of carbon pricing policies, thereby better addressing energy market risks. Simultaneously, businesses can regard EUI as a signal to anticipate future carbon pricing changes and take corre-sponding risk management measures.

Commute duration significantly influences decision-making in the labour market, especially for job seekers. This article aims to evaluate the effect of improvements in infrastructure on regional unemployment. Utilizing a unique database comprising commuting time data from all Czech municipalities (n = 6241) to their respective regional centres, we identified 1534 changes. Our findings indicate that a one-minute reduction in commuting time to the regional centre is associated with a 0.07 percentage point decrease in the unemployment rate one year later and a 0.19 percentage point decrease after five years. These results suggest that investing in local infrastructure has the potential to mitigate disparities in regional unemployment rates.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is now a top priority on the global political agenda. In recent years, the European Union has adopted various policies to protect and enhance our ecosystem. However, policymakers should also take cultural values into account, as understanding cultural values can greatly influence how environmental policies are perceived and implemented locally. As there are few studies examining their impact on pollution abatement in the EU Member States, this paper attempts to fill this gap. Therefore, the objective of the paper is to investigate the relationship between cultural factors and greenhouse gas emissions at the level of the 27 EU member states for the period 1990 – 2019. Our results show that the role of cultural dimensions in reducing pollution in the EU member states can vary according to the specific cultural dimension measured according to Hofstede’s methodology. In this context, the power distance index, masculinity, individualism, uncertainty avoidance index, and long-term orientation have a statistically significant and positive influence on the dependent variables used. Our study can be used as a starting point for researchers who want to deepen comprehensive analyses of individuals’ behaviour to reduce pollution or for policymakers to develop effective environmental policies.