INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL STUDIES

In the run-up to the 2023 early parliamentary elections in Slovakia, we at INESS analysed the programmes of all relevant political parties (those with more than 3% of potential votes in public polls.) We evaluated the programmes in the 5 main areas: education, healthcare, business environment, agriculture and public finances. We bring you our evaluation of the most important area of all: public finances.

Slovakia's general government deficit as a percentage of GDP is expected to be the highest in the EU this year, and the EC forecasts this undesirable EU leadership for Slovakia next year as well. The state has to borrow every sixth euro of its own spending. Consolidating public finances will require uncomfortable and extensive measures on the expenditure side.

In such a situation, we are well aware that without consolidating public finances, it will not be possible to implement good solutions in other areas of public life. Therefore, with our assessment, we would also like to appeal to the next government to approach the issue of public deficit in a sensible and responsible manner.

There are not many international rankings assessing healthcare systems. Moreover, the existing ones focus mainly on health indicators and do not take into account the amount of resources spent. However, as we live in a world of limited resources, it is crucial to know how much additional health a given health system will bring us for every euro spent.

The capital of the Czech Republic became a detached "workplace" of INESS in the week from 22 to 27 May 2023. Up to three INESS members participated in the Europe Liberty Forum 2023 conference, organised in Prague by the Atlas Network in cooperation with the Czech Liberal Institute. 

INESS once again organized the popular conference Free Market Road Show in cooperation with the Austrian Economics Center as part of the international conference tour. Its main focus was the current problems of the energy market in Europe, the challenges faced by entrepreneurs as well as energy suppliers.

This year, the Economics Olympiad attracted once again the interest of more than 10,000 young Slovaks and helped them to gain appreciation and recognition for their knowledge and skills in the fields of economics and finance. The sixth year of the Economics Olympiad for high-school students was concluded with the finals, which took place on Thursday, 4th May 2023 at the Hotel Devín in Bratislava.

Education is like an enormous oceanic ship where no one can change the course quickly, even if everyone can see that they are heading for an iceberg. Enough politicians have been burned in Slovakia who have taken command, announced a new course, and started turning the steering wheel, but nothing happened to the ship. I know a few seasoned sailors who have already resignedly declared education unreformable. When you can’t change the ship’s course, hand out lifeboats.

The energy sector is in dire need of investments. However, the new government-imposed taxes in Slovakia are instead adding to the financial burden already experienced by energy companies. Slovak politicians like many in Europe (who have engaged in reckless fiscal spending in the recent past) and the EU (which was indecisive on which energy sources should be supported) are now trying to make us believe that only more regulation will solve all our problems.

Public healthcare should also work with priorities. What has more priority? Financial or geographical accessibility? Quality or quantity? What should be clearly free and, conversely, what is the Slovak patient-insured-consumer willing to pay for?

Since 2006, most of the time Slovakia has been ruled by politicians who have emphasized the role of the welfare state. The concept of pre-election welfare packages has become more popular and has become an integral part of mainstream politics, regardless of the phase of the election cycle. The phrase ‘the state must share with the citizens’ has taken hold.