Acta Oeconomica Pragensia, 2008 (vol. 16), issue 1

The German Approach towards the Accesion of Poland and the Czech Republic to the EU

Eva Cihelková, Jakub Krč

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2008, 16(1):5-14 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.16  

The Geopolitical divide that separated Europe did not allow Germany on one side and Poland and Czechoslovakia on the other side to prosper from the potential of their relations. It has rapidly changed after the end of the Cold War, when both sides concluded and began to engage in many bilateral and multilateral treaties and cooperation that culminated in 2004 with the eastern enlargement of the EU. This paper deals with the German approach towards Poland and the present-day Czech Republic at bilateral as well as multilateral level during and before the enlargement itself and combines both political and economic points of view. The outline is based...

Richard Cobden, the German States and the Zollverein

John R. Davis

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2008, 16(1):15-30 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.17  

Richard Cobden was one of the main representatives of economic liberalism in the 19th century. He put through the fundamental changes in British economic policy which helped Great Britain become the strongest economic state in the world during the 19th century. The author concentrates on the analysis understanding and perception of the German Lands in the work of Richard Cobden. On the basis of Cobden's diary entries he gives attention not only to British-German economic relations but also for example to the comparison of school systems in which the German one's apprehended as more modern than the British one. Cobden went to the German Lands reveral...

Richard Cobden in Prague - in 1838. Extracts from his Travel Diary

John R. Davis

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2008, 16(1):31-37 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.18  

Richard Cobden belonged to a circle of the British intellectuals who admired German culture and philosophy. His interest grew further during his journey to the German states in the 1830s and 1840s. During his first journey in 1838 he visited for a short time the territory of Czech lands. To this short stay in Teplice and Prague the author dedicated this contribution in which he issues unpublished records from Cobden's diary. These reports contain a series of important findings and depict the everyday of the Czech lands in the end of the 19th century.

Czechoslovak-West German trade-political and transport-political Relations in the Period 1968-1989

Ivan Jakubec

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2008, 16(1):38-52 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.19  

The treaty of establishment of sales representation and the regulation of commodity and paying system from 1967 preceded the establishment of diplomatic relations in the first half of 1970's. This normalization of the mutual political relations however has not affected substantially the foreign exchange. But it led to expansion of the mutual sales representation. The military occupation of Czechoslovakia and the period of political normalization had brought a disruption of the well developing Czechoslovak - West German trade and transport cooperation. In the period 1968-1989 the Czechoslovak share of the trade with Germany as part of its foreign trade...

Methods of the Germanisation of Czech Economic during the German Occupation on Exapmle of Mining and Metallurgical Company Prague

Drahomír Jančík

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2008, 16(1):53-65 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.20  

In the inter-war Czechoslovakia, the Báňská a hutní společnost Praha (Mining and Metallurgical Compagny Prague) represented one of the three most important metallurgical companies. Thanks to its close connection to the armament industry it had an extreme strategic importance. Shortly after the foundation of Czechoslovakia, in the year 1920, the French L'Union Européenne Industrielle et Financière belonging to Schneider's group secured a major share in it. The organization structure of the Báňská a hutní společnost was affected by political changes - after the München Conference Poland annexed the region of Karviná and Třinec, where its sister...

Enemies or Allies?

Martin Kovář

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2008, 16(1):66-73 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.21  

It is difficult to determine whether Haldane's mission was a serious attempt of Asquith's Liberal government at "changing the foreign policy line" (i.e. an attempt to settle the relations with Germany and possible entering into an alliance with it), or a manifestation of Great Britain's traditional policy towards her allies on the Continent (i.e. a "balance of power" policy favouring the existing Entente partners - France and Russia). The events of January until April 1912 bring a lot of evidence and "evidence" for the former as well as for the latter interpretations. The truth is that the situation was not clear. There is no doubt that both on the...

An Instrument of Big Business Germanization in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia? History of the stock trading activity in the Prague Commodity and Stock Exchange from 1939 to 1945

Jiří Novotný, Jiří Šouša

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2008, 16(1):74-87 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.22  

The role of the Prague Commodity and Stock Exchange was quite specific during the existence of what is known as the Second Czechoslovak Republic and, in particular, during the occupation of the remaining part of the country by Nazi Germany, reflecting the extraordinary time context. The liberal principles of its operation were restricted and subject to the controlled war-oriented efforts. The racial discrimination laws and the Third Reich loyalty requirements had impacts on personal and organizational matters.Within the so-called "internal aryanization" of the Prague Commodity and Stock Exchange, pursuant to the general policy of "expulsion" of...

Ideas and Achievements of the State Policy of Mercantilism in Germany During the 17th and 18th Centuries

Toni Pierenkemper

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2008, 16(1):88-98 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.23  

The study deals with the theory and praxis of mercantilism in Prussia during the era of Frederic II. At the beginning the author drew the attention to the definition of the term mercantilism which represented neither comprehensive economic system nor economic theory but artificial construct of the liberal economic theoreticians at the break of the 17th and 18th centuries. This ambiguity enabled creation of the different mercantilist schools and approaches agreeing only on the strong position of the state in economic sphere. The attention is set to the practising of the mercantilist policy during government of Frederic II. The author confirms the hypothesis...

Selected Problems of the Economic Politics during the Government of H. Müller (until October 1929)

František Stellner, Radek Soběhart

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2008, 16(1):99-107 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.24  

In 1928 was appointed the last coalition democratic government which aim was to deal with growing economic problems of the Weimar republic. The so called "Great coalition" failed to come to agreement on solution of the most important questions: social policy, fiscal policy, reparations and the Young plan. Yet before October 1929 the problems of the political sphere and variety of opinions on German economic policy emerged. Therefore the study focuses both on problems which the cabinet considered crucial in economic sphere, on mingling of interests of political parties, trade unions, special interest groups in industry or agriculture, on influence of...

John Maynard Keynes, Socialism and Economic Policy of Nazi Germany

David Lipka, Dan Šťastný

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2008, 16(1):108-116 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.25  

Keynes foreword to the German edition of his General Theory is one of the causes of the association between his name and a total state. This paper looks into how justified the link between Keynes's theory and the Nazi German economic policy really is. The first part introduces Keynes's ideas on economic policy and his vision of society. These are in the second part confronted with the economic policy of the Nazi Germany (and partly that of Bolshevik Russia) and common components are identified. The conclusion is that despite his explicit repudiation of socialism and dictatorship and his efforts to "save" capitalism, Keynes's concept of economic policy...

Distant patron: Prince Albert and the Development of the Coburg-Gotha Economy

Oliver Walton

Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2008, 16(1):117-130 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.26  

When Prince Albert of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha married Queen Victoria of Great Britain, he was separated from the place of his birth by geography and British political expediency. Hitherto neglected by historians, Albert's surprisingly close and ongoing connections with the duchy have recently been uncovered. This article focuses upon his efforts to support and promote the economic development of the Coburg-Gotha. It shows how he was able to bridge the distance by employing local representatives, and outlines his investments in logistics and new technology, and his efforts to change society and culture in order to further economic development. It places...