INESS, the Institute of Economic and Social Studies, began its activities in Bratislava on January 1^st, 2006. As an independent think tank, INESS monitors the functioning and financing of the public sector, evaluates the effects of legislative changes on the economy and society and comments on current economic and social issues. Our goal is to broaden public awareness of the principles of market mechanisms’ functions and the effects of state interventions and their impact on society and everyday life. INESS’ priority areas include taxation and contributions to the state budget, the public healthcare system, monetary policy, EU membership issues, government regulation and property rights.

INESS is an independent, non-governmental and apolitical civic association founded by concerned individuals and financed by private donations and revenues from its own activities, which include research, publishing, counselling and educational activities. All of the Institute’s activities focus on solutions to urgent economic and social problems, bearing in mind that society’s main pillars are private property, peaceful coexistence and the guarantee of personal freedom.

INESS is an apolitical non-profit organization which supports neither political parties nor interest groups. Our collaborations with our partners influence neither our values nor the content of our output. INESS project financing – be it from private, corporate or public funds – is disclosed, and the funding source has no influence on the quality or objectivity of the final product. INESS will participate only in projects which do not conflict with its values.

Since its inception, INESS has appeared more than 1500 times in all major public and commercial Slovak print, broadcast and internet media, including publicly-owned Slovak Television and Slovak Radio and all major opinion-making newspapers (165 appearances in 2006, 226 in 2007 and 526 in 2008 and over 680 through December 2009).

The Institute’s other activities can be found on the INESS webpage at http://www.iness.sk. These include producing analyses and studies, making presentations at conferences, educational activities, commenting on current economic and social issues, reviewing economic literature and much more.

Our media commentary and articles are based largely on deep analyses we perform regularly in selected fields. Let’s first mention Healthy Profit (Zdravý zisk, hard copy also sent by regular mail), a book published in 2007. In the book, INESS contributes its arguments to the discussion of the legitimacy and importance of profit in healthcare, since arguments casting doubt on the functioning of market mechanisms and their legitimacy in the field have begun dominating political and professional discussion. Healthy Profit is intended for healthcare specialists and politicians as well as the public at large. 1,500 copies were published.

Analysis of the Social System in Slovakia (2006) is a study that identified and described persisting fundamental drawbacks in the Slovak social system.

Proposal for Resolving the Major Drawbacks of the Social System in Slovakia (2006) was introduced by INESS in order to resolve the drawbacks mentioned in the above analysis.

Savings and Sources in Public Finance is a joint study prepared by three co-operating institutes (the F.A. Hayek Foundation, the M.R. Stefanik Conservative Institute and INESS) and points out that there are still large reservations regarding public expenditure and its effectiveness.

Other important studies include Reform of the Slovak Healthcare System: Social Impact Assessment, Analysis of Legislation and Its Impact on the Entrepreneurial Environment in Slovakia, annual contributions on the development of the social system to a comprehensive publication entitled A Global Report on the State of Society, and a number of other, shorter analyses and studies.

Since December 2006 INESS has also operated a long-term internet project entitled “The Price of the State” at www.eng.cenastatu.sk. “The Price of the State” was lauded as the best pro-market internet website at the Stockholm Network Golden Umbrella Think Tank Awards held in December 2007.

The design of this unique internet presentation followed the idea that educating the general public on “how much you really pay for services you believed were free” is the best way to increase public pressure on political representatives to restrain public expenditure.

Information on government revenues and expenditures are dispersed and unclear and published at various locations online or in hard copy government materials. “The Price of the State” concentrates accurate and detailed information on the components of public finance. All data is displayed also in per capita and per workerforms so that the visitor can see the amount he or she pays for public services.

To also enable easy comprehension of the public finance system by people with no economic education, besides its tables the website offers a special set of educational tools. First, the public finance system is visualized in the form of a poster called “The Universe of Public Expenditures” (hard copy also sent by regular mail). Second, the interactive “Buy Your Own State” feature in the form of an e-shop leads the “customer” to consider and then choose whatever public goods provided by the state he prefers while imultaneously excluding those he does not consider important. After shopping, the customer proceeds to checkout where the price of the state is calculated and an indication given as to whether and by how much taxes could be reduced thanks to the savings. A third tool, “How much do you pay”, enables the visitor to calculate his own tax burden based on personal income and consumption (including VAT, income tax, fuel excises, alcohol and tobacco excises, etc.). The tool generates information on how much time the visitor spends working for the government every day.

A fourth feature, “State Waste”, monitors wasted funds in public administration that appeared in print media. Articles from all major daily newspapers and magazines are reviewed and evidence of ineffective use of public resources by state authorities is entered into stored in a database.

In co-operation with the Liberálni Institut in Prague, we have also prepared a Czech clone of the website (see www.cenastatu.cz).

One of the most important events in INESS’ history was a visit by American congressman Ron Paul, 1988 Libertarian Party presidential nominee and present Republican contender for the presidential nomination. Ron Paul‘s regular votes against almost all proposals for government spending, initiatives and taxes and his frequent dissents in otherwise unanimous votes have earned him the nickname “Dr. No” in the American Congress.

INESS issues a monthly newsletter, Market Finesse (in the Slovak language).

INESS members regularly deliver lectures at international and domestic conferences and also organize conferences and discussion forums on current economic and social issues. INESS members regularly produce chapters for inclusion in publications by other Slovak NGOs. In the future, INESS plans to widen its influence, expanding to spread and promote free market ideas and principles throughout Slovak society.

INESS is member of Stockholm Network (The leading pan-European think tank and market -oriented network)

Projects:

· The Price of the State

· Analysis of the Social System in Slovakia and Proposals for Resolving the Major Drawbacks

· Healthy Profit

Economic Literature Review:

· Ludwig von Mises: Human Action

Analyses:

· Mises on Monopoly Prices - A Critique

All papers in English can be found here (section Papers in English).

Contact:
INESS – Institute of Economic and Social Studies
Hviezdoslavovo nám. 17, 811 02 Bratislava
Slovakia
tel./fax.: +421 (0)2 5441 0945
e-mail: iness@iness.sk

How to get to INESS