Economy

The rising popularity of nationalist thought all over the world is evident. It has already won several battles in the political competition. Nevertheless, it is important to highlight an interesting occurrence here: nationalists operate with at least two incompatible opinions on the functioning of economy.

Most economists and politicians agree that investment subsidies break market principles. However, many consider subsidies a necessary tool in the global competition for investors and as an economic growth booster. INESS analyzed the investment subsidies granted in Slovakia during the years 2002–2016.

On the one hand, Slovak unemployment rate is declining. Automotive industry and large companies find it difficult to hire enough employees. According to the recent reports, workers are brought in not only from Ukraine or Hungary, but even from Serbia.

According to a recent study conducted by the European Parliament, Bulgaria loses between 14 and 22 percent of its GDP every year due to corruption practices.The main question is therefore why there are no results in the fight against corruption in the country?

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are a very important part of the Bulgarian economy. Their revenue in 2015 equals 13% of GDP, but even that number underestimates their economic impact. The data show that the financial position of SOEs as a whole has remained bad in recent years.

The law on criminal liability of legal persons is based on the idea that not just the suspects, but all parties will be burdened by annoying duties. As a result, the government would take control over all transactions where there is a possibility of tax evasion or some other crimes.

Steak tartare is a traditional specialty form raw meat, popular not only in Slovakia, but in most of European countries. However, unlike in other European countries, in Slovakia it is illegal. It was outlawed by an act passed by the Ministry of Healthcare in 2007.

One could rather poetically suggest that it has been all quiet on the cryptoccurency front since the Bitcoin hysteria we experienced 2-3 weeks ago. Its price has been mostly dormant, stagnating around the value of EUR 850. And yet, the crypto-world kept its ball of development rolling.

Part of today’s general disgust with political elites is the increasing disappointment of entrepreneurs with the countless declarations and promises of members of several cabinets, which remained just on paper. The new Slovak cabinet did not yet manage to regain the trust either.

If you think that these trends won’t affect you, because although you still have plenty time before you retire, or because you are not a blue-collar worker, don’t cheer too soon. The development of artificial intelligence can bring robotization and automatization not only to sectors where manual work with often repeated actions is needed.