Mankind has made unbelievable progress in the last one hundred years. From horse carriages to moon landings, from typhus epidemics to molecular genetics, from conservative patriarchate to gay marriages. One thing does not change though – the suspicion, or even hate towards merchants.

The Institute of Economic and Social Studies (INESS) first introduced its Bureaucracy Index in Slovakia in 2016 to draw the attention to the amount of red tape a small entrepreneur has to overcome on a daily basis just to do business.

Bureaucracy Index was introduced in Slovakia in 2016 by INESS – Institute of Economic and Social Studies, to draw the attention to the amount of red tape a small entrepreneur has to overcome on a daily basis.

This was perhaps the motto for Axel Voss, the EU's copyright rapporteur, who was in charge of preparation and submission of the new European directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market.

The most important figure of the Slovak economy in the last 5 years has been the trend in unemployment. This rate had been decreasing since the first quarter of 2013 and had dropped to almost a half in the first quarter of 2018. The unemployment rate fell from more than 14% to nearly 7%.

There were over 400,000 distrains recorded in Slovakia in 2017. New websites and organizations have emerged to help people in debt. A vast majority of people do not know how much taxes they pay or how much public services cost.

INESS has been organizing the Free Market Road Show, an international conference, for a number of years. It is a series of conferences, organized across Europe, from Scandinavia to Montenegro, from Spain to Ukraine. The event found its way to Bratislava in 2018 again and brought topics stirring the public at home and abroad.

Sharing economy platforms, like Uber and Taxify, present a new opportunity. The opportunity for people with cars who can make some extra money instead of watching their favorite reality show on TV. The opportunity for people who want a cheaper and more comfortable ride on Friday night. The opportunity for city parking policy, for public transport or for air quality.

Slovak politicians are full of talks about competitiveness and improving business environment. However, when it comes to action, they oppose even the most trivial and costless improvements.