Economy

The Estonian economy is showing green shoots of recovery again, and people\'s real purchasing power has risen since June of last year. These are the words of the Minister of Economic Affairs and IT Erkki Keldo . He also added that wages have also been outpacing inflation. Speaking to \"Esimene stuudio,\" Keldo noted that people\'s real purchasing power has been increasing since June of last year.

High inflation has long been the most serious macroeconomic challenge our country has faced in recent years. It was far from being only economists who identified deep price instability as a major problem, as the wider public viewed the extraordinary rise in most prices in the economy with equal reluctance.

Not long ago, there was a debate in professional circles about the predictive value of central bank forecasts. They have been desperately inaccurate in the last few years, a time of severe price instability. The question has therefore arisen as to whether the models underlying these forecasts are sufficiently robust and realistic.

I am a classical, pro-free market liberal and I have always been closer to the Republicans than the Democrats. But in this election I had fingers crossed for Kamala Harris because she was more predictable and a better candidate from a geopolitical point of view. But if you look at it purely from a business perspective, the better option seems to be Trump.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Bank of Sweden\'s Alfred Nobel Prize in Economics for Friedrich Hayek, we would like to recall the achievements of this Austrian thinker and his impact on the entire democratic world, social sciences, and liberal philosophy.

I recently overheard an interview in which the irrationality of Slovaks who refuse to buy more economically advantageous electric cars was criticized. Quite often, I encounter the fact that owners of electric vehicles fail to look at this problem through the eyes of the average driver. First, it is important to realize that the average Slovak drives either a second-hand car or his old car. In September alone, 5,000 individually imported cars were registered in Slovakia.

Russia\'s economic landscape is under strain. In this interview, Martin Vlachynsky, an analyst from INESS, sheds light on the complexities of Russia\'s current economic policies, their implications for businesses and ordinary citizens, and how the ongoing war continues to shape the country\'s financial reality.

In October, Bulgarian interim Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova held a press conference regarding the 2025 state budget and the medium-term framework for 2025–2028. The biggest surprise was the expert assessment, based on current policies and enacted legislation, which projected a nominal spending increase of BGN 18.1 billion in 2025. Such a significant rise, even as an expert projection, raises several questions:

In November, the Institute for Market Economics’ (IME) introduced its White Paper, Unlocking Growth: The Path Forward After the Elections. But what are the goals we can realistically achieve in the medium term? Below, we present eight fundamental goals with a four-year horizon that are fully attainable and would significantly improve the country’s development potential and quality of life.

In September 2024, the business climate in Ukraine shows positive changes. In recent months, companies\' production and financial performance have increased, and expectations for further development remain optimistic.