Prague Economic Papers, 1996 (vol. 5), issue 1

Original contributions, Original article, Research article

Health care cost containment

Martin Dlouhý

Prague Economic Papers 1996, 5(1) | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.100

The prime objective of health policy is to improve the health of the population. This must be done with limited resources and at costs that do not impose an unsustainable burden on the economy and its international competitiveness. This is the crucial question to answer: Is the performance of the economy sufficient to allow further development of health services? If the answer is, no', then the affordability of health care has to be maintained through cost containment. The aim of cost containment (or cost control) is to contain the escalation of health care cost in real terms, or in relative terms as opposed to economic growth. Cost containment is...

Producing dynamic growth is the task ahead

Jeffrey Sachs

Prague Economic Papers 1996, 5(1) | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.93

The first stage of transition in the Czech Republic is over. This country has a market economy and it is working. The second stage of transformation is the rapid catch-up with Western Europe. The main steps may be following: The first involves macro-economic policies, especially exchange rate policy. Exchange rate policy should be managed consistently to protect the competitiveness of export industries. The second item is tax policy. The government spending should be compatible with the level of development and the level of income - it should be in the order of 25 - 30 %. Pension reform. Flexible labor markets. Market access. Infrastructure. Transport,...

Are capital inflows in the CR inflationary?

Tomáš Dvořák

Prague Economic Papers 1996, 5(1) | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.94

It is evident that the volume of capital inflows in the Czech Republic has had seriously monetary consequences. As shown in the section 2 net foreign assets accounted for most of the growth in the money supply in the Czech Republic during 1993 and 1994. Inflationary effects of capital inflows depend on whether capital inflows are driven by the money demand or by the money supply. The inflows driven by a rightward shift in the money demand function are not likely to result in inflation, while a shift in the money, supply function, caused perhaps by institutional change and greater availability of foreign funds, is likely to put pressure on prices. Empirical...

On the role and perspectives of the labour market policy in the Czech republic

Tomáš Sirovátka

Prague Economic Papers 1996, 5(1) | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.95

A low unemployment rate, which unlike the other post-communist countries the Czech Republic has maintained, is one of the conditions for the sustainability of the economic reform. Unemployment is putting little pressure on government budget, and is not producing social unrest. The complex of economic and social factors that contributed to the Czech paradox of low unemployment has more than once been assessed. Here however, we want to concentrate on the role which active labour market policy has played, and to evaluate its prospects in the light of present and expected developments, both domestically and in Europe.

Application of an nonconventional valuation method to environmental component quality

Eva Tošovská

Prague Economic Papers 1996, 5(1) | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.96

The main objective of this paper is to present the results of application of an unconventional valuation method to environmental component quality in the Czech Republic. I have derived resultant valuation after implementation of several steps requiring particularly: analysis of methods simulating nonexistent market valuation in the environmental sector; choice of valuation method and its substantiation; methodological preparation of field research on willingness to pay ; wider interpretation of data acquired by research.

Econometric analysis of the cr consumption function

Roman Hušek

Prague Economic Papers 1996, 5(1) | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.97

The econometric analysis of the quarterly time series allows for the conclusion that despite a considerable fall of GDP the development of the real consumption in CR was not profiled through a great shock. The influence of the past behaviour of consumers and the reactions arising from the adaptation to the existing transformation and market conditions caused some oscillation with a modest, and later with a considerable rise. The behaviour of the typical or average consumer did not lead to the consensus with the hypothesis of proportionality in the development of consumption and income. Also the hypothesis that consumption remains at the same level,...

Investment model of the czech economy

Václava Pánková

Prague Economic Papers 1996, 5(1) | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.98

Investment is a source of maintaining or increasing of the capital stock in the economy. By increasing the capital stock, investment spending can augment the future output of the economy. Being a dynamic phenomenon, its determinants arise over various past periods and its formalization belongs to problems of specifying and estimating relationships describing dynamic disequilibrium behaviour. The sources of the dynamics are mainly the durability of capital goods, the problem of financing a purchase over time and the expectations of investment behaviour. Econometricians trying to model, analyze and prognosticate the economic development in transition...

Computable policy model of eastern european agriculture and food industry

Karel Janda, Rachael Goodhue, Robert Lyons, Gordon Rausser, Leo Simon

Prague Economic Papers 1996, 5(1) | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.99

The development of an international trade during the last few years have shown, that there exist substantial impediments to the good trade performance of the East and Central European countries. These problems are both of an internal economic policy nature and of an international trade policy nature. Especially strong problems are in the area of the agricultural and food trade, which is much less liberalized than the trade in other goods. One of the many ways of helping to improve the situation in the agricultural trade is an extensive understanding of the effects of domestic and international policy measures on the export and import flows of goods...