I recently attended a discussion on Europe’s competitiveness. There was unanimous agreement that we are lagging behind in all applied technologies—perhaps with the sole exception of the pharmaceutical industry. The reflexive response from the participants was: “We’ve created a fund for that.” Too few startups? Create a startup fund. Weak AI performance? An AI innovation…
“Competition is a discovery procedure that enables us to adapt to new circumstances. It is through further competition, not through agreement, that we gradually increase our efficiency.” This statement by economist F.A. Hayek best captures the essence of competition. Competition constantly separates the efficient from the inefficient. The invisible hand of the market is, in…
INESS once again organized the popular conference in cooperation with the Austrian Economics Center as part of the international conference network Free Market Road Show. On May 14, 2025 we were honoured to welcome both local and international speakers as well as almost 50 guests in the hall of the Devín Hotel in Bratislava. The…
The wonderful thing about economics is that it recognizes truths about the world that laypeople cannot intuitively grasp, based on simple statements about human action. Consider two concepts: opportunity costs and marginal decision-making based on marginal benefits and costs. If you really understand these two concepts, then it must seem normal to you that there…
I often hear the phrases ‘real price’ or ‘justified price’, for example, in the question of ambulances or hospitals. They make my economic hair stand on end. It reminds me of how deeply embedded healthcare is in the price thinking of planned economics. Before 1989 in Slovakia, the whole economy was run on the principle…
Several competitiveness rankings assess factors such as law enforcement, infrastructure, and taxation law from a business perspective. However, they often lack accessible and practical explanations of how these factors impact the daily operations of small businesses. The Bureaucracy Index uses a straightforward approach to provide a detailed list and quantification of bureaucratic burdens faced by…
Slovakia Leads with Highest Bureaucratic Burden, Poland Ranks Most Business-Friendly Several existing competitiveness rankings assess factors like law enforcement, infrastructure, and tax law from a business perspective. However, these often lack an accessible, practical translation of how these factors impact the daily operations of small businesses. The Bureaucracy Index was launched in 2016 by the…
Differences in preferences between men and women cannot be explained by discrimination and stereotypes alone. Non-social biological factors also play a significant role. The EU recently adopted a directive to tackle the gender pay gap by introducing new bureaucratic obligations for employers. Similarly, the EU is pushing on other issues in the fight for gender…
The current process of negotiating salary increases for public servants should also be seen in the context of international comparisons. Slovakia spends the most on salaries in the whole V4, not only as a share of total public administration expenditure but also as a share of GDP. In these comparisons, Slovakia spends more than the…
In its program statement, the government announced its intention to increase the progressivity of personal taxation. In the budget plan, it already speaks specifically of the intention to “introduce 3rd and 4th personal income tax rates from 2025,” which is expected to increase public revenues by EUR 78 million. A 3rd rate of 30% is…
In its programme statement, the government announced its intention to increase the progressivity of personal taxation. In the budget plan, it already speaks specifically of the intention to "introduce 3rd and 4th personal income tax rates from 2025, which is expected to increase public revenues by EUR 78 million. A 3rd rate of 30% is…
The current process of negotiating salary increases for public servants should also be seen in the context of international comparisons. Slovakia spends the most on salaries in the whole V4, not only as a share of total public administration expenditure, but also as a share of GDP. In these comparisons, Slovakia spends more than the…
