The most important figure of the Slovak economy in the last 5 years has been the trend in unemployment. This rate had been decreasing since the first quarter of 2013 and had dropped to almost a half in the first quarter of 2018. The unemployment rate fell from more than 14% to nearly 7%.
With a sample of 4,000 Slovak students, the Economics Olympiad revealed the most serious weaknesses in economic education of young people. Memorizing is believed to be a long-term problem, but knowledge useful only as a part of quiz shows remains a crucial element of the Slovak education system.
Mankind has made unbelievable progress in the last one hundred years. From horse carriages to moon landings, from typhus epidemics to molecular genetics, from conservative patriarchate to gay marriages. One thing does not change though – the suspicion, or even hate towards merchants.
Marx is on a victory march. Even in Slovakia. And despite the local uproar caused by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker´s recent visit to Marx´s childhood nest to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the philosopher´s birth by celebrating his intellectual heritage.
INESS has been organizing the Free Market Road Show, an international conference, for a number of years. The event found its way to Bratislava in 2018 again and brought topics stirring the public at home and abroad.
The eighth year of the Seminar on Austrian Economics organized by INESS was traditionally held in the Mojmírovce manor on March 15 to 18, 2018. Here, 29 students from various universities from all around Slovakia and the Czech Republic got together.
Do not be fooled by the vast yellow fields of rapeseed in Slovakia. The agricultural sector is a zombie, living on subsidies instead of fresh brains. There are a few exceptions (like the successful tomato growers), but the overall numbers are harsh.
How can Slovakia match the technologies of the 21st century with regulation, so that the opportunities will be exploited? It’s simple. It is not rocket science or a super-secured secret. Just look at what has been done by more than half of the U.S. states.
Paying the advanced tax in Slovakia is a bureaucratic burden, since an entrepreneur has to take care of the regular payments. But there is a bigger problem. An entrepreneur has to pay the advanced tax from her/his current income – but the payment size is set according to her/his last year’s tax.
The Slovak Ministry of Agriculture lists among its goals the support of Slovak agricultural production. Except their heavy subsidizing under EU common agricultural policy, it uses several tools of nationalist protection of local production.
