Lithuania

On September 10, 2015 the Lithuanian Free Market Institute will be holding a conference “25 Years on the Road to Freedom. Past Reforms and Future Challenges” with the aim to evaluate the transition and reforms that our region has accomplished and to discuss the desired direction of further development.

The Lithuanian Free Market Institute has launched a unique interactive teaching platform for teachers of economics at www.ekonomikosvadovelis.lt. This one-of-a-kind platform in Lithuania that encompasses a variety of features including video lessons, interactive tasks, a dictionary of economic terminology and other practical material is a part of LFMI’s brand new textbook on economics – Economics in 31 Hours.

Although Greece’s drama has left no people indifferent, neither those who stick to a tough position on Greece (Lithuanian government, for starters), nor newly declared Greece’s friends (European nationalists and socialists) would want the same scenario for their countries. However, becoming Greece is not so difficult. Here are a few guidelines.

Uber, established in 2009, today is valued at around $50 billion and its great success lies in the simplicity of the business model. Anyone can become an Uber driver in the USA, but is it so simple in Europe?

The Lithuanian Parliament and the Ministry of Agriculture are destroying competition in the dairy sector through the egregious regulation of raw milk purchases. Much noise has been made over this new law, which places onerous restrictions on the dairy market of dubious constitutionality.

Intra-budgetary redistribution of the Personal Income Tax in Lithuania is aimed at providing financial support for economically weaker municipalities. The present analysis is aimed at measuring level differences of intra-budgetary redistribution of the Personal Income Tax across municipalities as well as identifying the major problems created by this process.

Under the European Charter of Local Self-Government, the internal administrative structure and the resources of the governments should correspond to the needs of the local population as well as ensure effective governance. However, statistical data shows the growth of municipal bureaucracy despite demographic decline.

Following 2014 reforms, municipalities allocate social allowances by performing municipal, rather than the state function. This reform was aimed at achieving more transparent and targeted social benefit allocation process by decreasing the volume of improper or inappropriate payments.

LFMI’s brand new textbook on economics, \"Economics in 31 Hours\", will be hitting the bookstores and schools across Lithuania this autumn after a pilot project with 30 teachers and over 1,300 pupils.

On June 11-12, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute will host the Heritage Foundation representatives, who will meet with the Lithuanian government, politicians and business leaders to discuss Lithuania\'s progress in the 2015 Index of Economic Freedom and reforms needed to further improve the country\'s ratings.