INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL STUDIES

If you are one of those fascinated by the Internet and its influence on the society, this is the book for you. Progress without Permission is a complete guide to the world where Airbnb rescues the dead capital and it competes with the state in the regulation making process, where Kickstarter replaces the tax collection and helps with financing the public services, and where Bitcoin enables building of a parallel society where there are no “chiefs” and we all have the keys to the kingdom.

Wage debates are always heated, no matter if it is an employee asking their boss for a rise, or union negotiations. Anyway, in the past year or two, the wage question became one of the leading topics of public debate in Slovakia.

Everyone wants to fight red tape – the European Union, governments, politicians. Well, at least according to their proclamations, party programs, and numerous conferences.

In Slovakia, the minimum wage has become a political evergreen of every autumn. However, its growth has been rapidly increasing in recent years. Moreover, the former Slovak prime minister has proposed a new law, which will set the minimum wage at 60% of an average wage of the previous year (effectively t+2).

Prague, September 11, 2019

On September 10, 2019 ,the first international finale of the Economics Olympiad took place in the Czech national bank in Prague. Slovakia was excellently represented by five students from whom two reached the first two medal positions. High school students undoubtedly proved that despite reports of low financial literacy of Slovaks, there are many exceptionally talented young economists who will not get lost even in international comparison.

INESS organized an interesting public lecture during summer season. On August 6, 2019, Dr. Sean Gabb delivered a speech on Brexit and British strategy in Bratislava. Below you can read the outline of the lecture, accompanied by the video.

None of us likes interacting with bureaucracy. Filling out documents, spending hours in queues, and arguing with officials about formal details – many comedy movies have been built around these situations.

In Slovakia, non-monetary transfers are often forgotten due to the contributions system – this is set up so that only self-employed know, with exaggeration, how expensive it is. Most employees have no idea that the employer pays an additional 35% to their gross wage. Therefore, they do not realize the value received when the state pays health or pension insurance for them. 

Which healthcare system in Europe provides the best value for money? Rankings of healthcare systems are rare, and those which would rate value for money for a long time have been non-existent.

Nowadays, decision-makers are driven to come up with solutions to the issue of rising obesity rate. In Slovakia, the obesity rate has doubled in last 35 years.