In the last five years, Piraeus Bank has lost 97% of its value and Eurobank (indeed, an apt name) an astounding 99.8% of the value. Their market value is currently five times lower that the market value of the Uber company. However, the Stock Exchange has not reached the historic low of the year 2012.
Lack of jobs remains the key problem of the Slovak economy despite the currently declining unemployment rate. Government policies keep coming up with new labour market measures but these often prove ineffective, generating only temporary jobs by selectively supporting chosen jobseekers.
Just like every year, INESS released the Bill for Government services few days ago. Although such information should be ideally provided by the government itself, Slovak government is somewhat reluctant to inform the society on costs of the functioning of the state. This is precisely why INESS decided to take up this task.
The real problem of the minimum wage concerns a very different group of people. Yet you will not see these people in newspapers or TV and they are not part of government negotiations at all. They are the unemployed people. Hence, what economists argue as some “redistribution problems” between employers and employees is not at the core of issues with minimum wage.
We have the pleasure the present you the second of the series of our policy papers that we will be publishing in the near future. The publication discusses the issue of Gold-plating – the process where an EU directive is given additional powers when being transposed into the national laws of member states. Enjoy your reading!
Is there a difference between a starting entrepreneur and a disabled person? Yes, there is, and it’s a big one. A disabled person has much fewer options if he or she wants to get a government aid compared to a starting entrepreneur. I remembered this joke when I was reading one of the government strategies. But the joke may soon become a reality if the government decides to implement it. And that’s not funny at all.
Gold-plating is a term that describes the process where an EU directive is given additional powers when being transposed into the national laws of member states – a quite common approach in any EU state. The seminar will reflect upon this issue and give an overview of positive approaches on how successful EU countries deal with the problem and what kind of procedures they have implemented. Join F.A.Hayek Foundation on May 6, 2015 in Bratislava!
Free Market Road Show 2015 has visited Bratislava, Slovakia on April 14, 2015. The event organized by INESS in cooperation with Austrian Economics Center was a part of the unique conference tour that visits 36 cities around Europe and Caucasus from April till May.
In the last few years, the compound word “start-up” has established itself in the Slovak language and is successfully edging out the original term – “a beginning entrepreneur”. A start-up, a start-uper, the start-up scene, a start-up strategy, a start-up investment – the media are packed to the rafters with such collocations. This is not a coincidence. The change in our vocabulary reflects the greater attention paid to the segment of beginning entrepreneurs. It wasn´t…
Slovak Labour Code that requires separation of the meal contribution for an employee from the salary of the employee created an artificial meal voucher market and ensured the voucher companies millions in revenue and generous profit margins, which are, at the end of the day, paid by the majority of workers, employers and restaurateurs in Slovakia.
