Acta Oeconomica Pragensia, 2011 (vol. 19), issue 2

Competitiveness in the International Context. Selected Aspects of the Position of New EU Member States

Božena Plchová

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2011, 19(2):3-27 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.328  

The purpose of the study is to analyse and evaluate the position and trend of international competitiveness of the Central European EU countries, and the results of the influence of their EU membership on the competitiveness of the chosen countries. The study method is based on a complex set of multidimensional analyses using, firstly, quantitative indicators, namely input and output indicators, and secondly, qualitative evaluations. The results of the empirical evaluations had to monitor the changing positions of the new EU Member States in the International Competitiveness Scoreboard: Yearbooks of IMD Lausanne; Reports of WEF Geneve. The study conclusions...

Business Perception of the Czech State Export Promotion Services. Analysis of Selected Aspects

Adam Krčál

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2011, 19(2):28-49 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.329  

The article deals with the Czech export promotion system. The hypothesis that is being examined in the article is as follows: "Exporters in the Czech Republic do not have enough information about the current system of the Czech state export promotion services and they only make little of use these services." The theoretical part contains an analysis of the Czech export promotion system. The Czech export promotion system is based on the activities of several institutions, mainly the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and also government agencies such as CzechTrade and CzechInvest, but there is also the Czech Export Bank...

Qualitative Changes in Risk Trends Pose Challenges for Insurability

Martina Bejrová, Jiří Králík

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2011, 19(2):50-65 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.330  

Our rapidly changing world has been challenging insurers to keep the pace. Given the qualitative changes in risk trends, the insurance industry has encountered a problem of insurability limits and shifting boundaries of the private insurance sector. The possibilities of covering enormous uncertainties, particular risks and new or modified risks are discussed in this paper. The basic problem of how the nature of risks has evolved over time and obstacles to insuring against certain risks are explained in this paper, and some innovative ways to overcome the mentioned obstacles are listed. One of the most recently discussed issues is the impact of catastrophic...

Comparison of Volatility Models of PX Index and FTSE 100 Index

Adam Borovička

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2011, 19(2):66-88 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.331  

The article deals with a typical phenomenon of financial time series - volatility. These time series usually embody intermittent periods of relative "calm" and quite high variability. A volatility modelling of time series is made with the help of special econometric volatility models which characterize the so-called conditional heteroskedasticity. The goal of this paper is to choose a suitable volatility model for Prague PX Index and London FTSE 100. The path to the aim is via a stationarity analysis of tracked time series of closing values of the mentioned indexes, conditional heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation tests and an identification of probability...