Economy

The second part of the interviev by Josef Šíma (president of CEVRO Institute, Prague) with professor Peter Boettke on the importance of mainstream vs. mainline distinction in understanding economics, the power of ideas and education focusing on the link between philosophy, politics and economics, and the new master\'s PPE program in Prague.

Lithuania’s level of economic freedom has been steadily improving. The country has jumped up by two positions and ranked 13th in the world in the 2015 edition of the Index of Economic Freedom. The index is compiled by the Heritage Foundation in partnership with The Wall Street Journal.

This story of bilateral cooperation between Turkey and Georgia gives an interesting example of how good will and understanding each others needs, despite of several historic and political differences in past, can create a high level of cooperation from which both sides can benefit politically and economically.

On the importance of mainstream vs. mainline distinction in understanding economics, the power of ideas and education focusing on the link between philosophy, politics and economics, and the new master\'s PPE program in Prague with professor Peter Boettke talked Josef Šíma, president of CEVRO Institute, Prague.

A robot called Baxter truly exists. It takes him one hour to learn simple repetitive movements and then it is able to repeat them with objects which weight no more than 10 kilograms. Baxter costs 22 thousand US dollars. It is less than work costs of one employee with average salary in Slovakia for two years.

The conclusion for the Hungarian opposition shall therefore be quite obvious: they need to find an answer to the abovementioned economic needs. The refugee crisis may dominate the public discussion for now, but everyday lives of the voters are defined by the worsening economic situation and the fear of wash-out.

Although the frontlines are very clear when it comes to democracy, rule of law, European orientation – it is not the case in economic issues. Opposition parties have to remember this when creating a program and looking for alternatives instead of the regime of Fidesz: the Hungarian opposition is not right of left wing, rather eclectic – just like the government.

2015 was a year of many wins and losses for Ukraine. In the first half of the year, Ukraine faced a near-perfect storm of escalating military conflict, falling commodity prices and political instability. As a result already low export revenues went even further down and foreign currency reserves dropped to 5 billion dollars.

Tax rates are a political decision with fiscal impacts. And despite the fact that all voters are influenced by taxes, at least voters who have a strong opinion on the issue of excise duties (e.g. alcohol, tobacco, etc.) affect the election outcome.

To better understand the need for a change in policy, this article first provides a brief overview of the current legislation and its implementation in member states and then looks at how current proposals for new minimum rates were formed. Finally, it evaluates whether increasing taxes on alcohol is the best course of action.