Lithuania

On March 13, 2018, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute will hold Lithuania’s first online National Economics Exam for pupils, university students, and everyone who would like to measure their knowledge of economics.

As many as 81% of Lithuanians find their knowledge of economics insufficient. Making economic decisions at every step of the way, Lithuanians compare their understanding of economics to that of physics or political sciences, but find themselves less confident in economics than in computer literacy or mathematics.

The presented case study provides a review of the rationales behind state ownership and the decisions to establish SOEs and delineates specific implications of these policies. Its main focus are SOEs in Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia.

The Respect for Taxpayers Day becomes an official commemorative day in Lithuania to be celebrated on May 11. A recently adopted law is a result of a petition submitted by the Lithuanian Free Market Institute.

Žilvinas Šilėnas tops the list of Lithuania’s most influential opinion leaders, a market research company “Kantar TNS” announces. Reaching the audience of 37 million in the first half of 2017, Šilėnas has forged ahead the incumbent representatives of the banking sector.

After three years of decline, illegal trade in alcohol is on the increase, shows a research by the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI). According to LFMI, this year the shadow economy occupied 24% of the spirits market in Lithuania, representing an increase by two-percentage points since 2015.

Politicians should ask themselves if depriving citizens of their right to choose high quality reasonably priced services while putting private businesses at a competitive disadvantage is the path Lithuania should follow.

Lithuania has long been praised for its rankings in the categories of starting a business, registering property, and enforcing contracts, but it has also been criticized for a heavy administrative burden and red tape pervading the areas of dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, and paying taxes.

The 2008 financial crisis, geopolitical tensions, and other macro factors have slowed down SOE privatization. In some CEE countries, the trend has even reversed. Estonia nationalized its railways in 2007 and Lithuania bought out private investors in its energy companies.

The Lithuanian Social Democrats have withdrawn from the governing coalition led by the Peasant-Greens, making it a minority governmnent. Of the three Social Democrats Ministers, only Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius will leave his party to remain in the government.