Automotive industry plays one of the most important roles in economies of the Visegrad Group countries. The sector became the regional leader in export and a reason for close ties among countries. Hyundai Kia in the Czech Republic and Slovakia is a textbook example of how one company ignores artificial national borders. Thanks to automotive industry,…
In 2017, INESS launched a series of informal economic discussions called Ekonomické reči (Econtalks). In 2017, INESS launched a series of informal economic discussions called Ekonomické reči (Econtalks). Seven events were organized so far and more than 420 guests altogether visited the evening forum. First Econtalks were held by Radovan Ďurana in March. The topic…
If every innovation had to pass through parliament first, we would live in a very sad world today. In a world with no innovation. New internet technologies and companies fight against the public institutions on various fronts. The media headlines are full of it: They want to ban Uber in London and have already done…
Every fifth euro goes to a pensioner, railroads and highways consume 7-times more public resources than family benefits. To support farmers, Slovak citizens spent 3-times more than on benefits in material need. Despite these facts, many Slovak citizens believe that benefits received by Roma minority are the main cause of high taxes and budget deficit can…
Democracy works best alongside civil society. However, civil society is built by solving local issues without relying on the remote hands of politicians and democracy. It may sound like a paradox, but in reality, the expansion of so-called civil society requires neither politicians or more elections, nor longer electoral programs. Life in a Civil Society…
A dozen countries out of the 28 European Union (EU) members had legal limits on cash transactions in place at the end of 2015. A dozen countries out of the 28 European Union (EU) members had legal limits on cash transactions in place at the end of 2015. Portugal, the country leading with these limits,…
In the recent years, cash has earned the label of obsolescence and high cost, and become a public enemy. Restrictions on cash payments are in place in many countries around the world and an EU-wide restriction is looming. However, cash plays a number of important roles in the economy. To counter the one-sided public discussion…
Tom is the most expensive cat in the world. The Chinese bought him from a young Slovenian couple for a billion dollars. Even from our own local experience, we know that the Chinese buy any damn thing. So what? If you have children, you probably know the talking cat Tom. The cat with huge eyes…
The slowdown in raising the deductible item did exactly what the government needed. More taxes are paid to the budget and people have not even noticed it. Have you noticed that the basic rate of income tax has been changed in tax law? Of course, the number 19 percent stayed unchanged. However, what has been…
This should be the first commandment of every regulator. Or at the very least, forbidding should not be their first step. Many governments all over the world which have imposed a ban on sharing economy do not respect this rule. They shoot first and ask questions later. And even when they ask, they ask the…
On April 28, 2017, INESS in cooperation with Austrian Economics Center organized in Slovakia Free Market Road Show, a part of a series of conferences and panel discussions that tours all over Europe – from Scandinavia to Montenegro, from Spain to Ukraine. Over 400 experts participate overall, presenting aspects of key economic questions in 45…
Robert Miskuf, CEO and founder of Pedal Consulting, a business development consultancy based in the Slovak Republic, started working in European public procurement eight years ago — and his job was mired in paperwork. “Every morning, I had to visit 27 websites and look for newly published calls for tenders,” he said. For any given…
