Prague Economic Papers, 2019 (vol. 28), issue 1

Original contributions, Original article, Research article

Smoking Czechs: Modelling Tobacco Consumption and Taxation

Karel Janda, Martin Strobl

Prague Economic Papers 2019, 28(1):3-29 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.685  

We model the future tobacco consumption, size of smoking population and governmental tax revenues in the Czech Republic. The main model assumption states that smokers determine their future tobacco consumption behaviour as adolescents. Further assumptions make the model applicable to the data from the Czech National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Future teenage smoking rates and average consumption are the inputs to the model; consumption growth coefficients for each age category are estimated using zero-inflated negative binomial regression. Several scenarios are built to model possible developments, including extreme cases. All our...

Returns to Tertiary Education in Western and Eastern Europe

Martina Mysíková, Jiří Večerník

Prague Economic Papers 2019, 28(1):30-48 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.686  

In the 1990s, the transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe witnessed an upward trend in returns to education, unlike in Western European countries. This upward trend led to much higher returns than in what was observed in the communist period or compared to the West. The surveys EU-SILC collected since 2005 show that although returns to tertiary education were converging across Europe, there is still a big difference between East and West, with returns considerably higher in the East. Panel analysis reveals also substantial differences in the factors behind returns to tertiary education in the East and the West. The assumed negative relationship...

Corporate Social Performance versus Financial Performance of the Romanian Firms

Marian Siminica, Costel Ionașcu, Mirela Sichigea

Prague Economic Papers 2019, 28(1):49-69 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.687  

This article analyses the relationship between corporate social performance and financial performance at the level of a panel of 62 Romanian companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The first challenge was measuring of the social performance. A new social performance measurement system was developed based on which the CSP Index was obtained. The GRI criteria for reporting, the channel of communication chosen by the companies, as well as the level of detail of the published information were taken into account. The estimation of the regression model was made using the CSP Index as the dependent variable and the financial indicators (return on...

Differences in Total Factor Productivity Growth in the European Union: The role of Human Capital by Income Level

Sara Barcenilla, Gregorio Gimenez, Carmen López-Pueyo

Prague Economic Papers 2019, 28(1):70-85 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.689  

This article applies Oaxaca-Blinder and Shorrocks-Shapley decomposition techniques to a logistic diffusion model in order to explain the differences in Total Factor Productivity Growth (TFPG) in European Union (EU) countries for the period 1950-2011. Human capital has a dual positive effect on TFPG by boosting innovation and increasing the catch-up capacity of countries to absorb and imitate foreign technologies. Our results show that there are statistically significant differences in the intensity of these effects between high and low average income EU countries, while there are not between euro and non-euro countries. The mean difference in technical...

Labour Inequalities in Europe: The Case of Serbia

Svetlana Mihic, Miroslava Filipovic, Danijela Dasic

Prague Economic Papers 2019, 28(1):86-104 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.691  

Gender differences present a topic of great interest in contemporary societies. Aim of this paper is to make a comparison between the unemployment in Serbia and the European countries, and to identify those countries which record the most similar performances considering gender and age. The research is conducted through analysis of activity rates, employment rates, unemployment rates, inactivity rates and long-term unemployment rates. The factor analysis enabled us to identify main factors that influence structures of the labour markets in Europe. Final result of this research is the recommendation of policy measures, including the promotion of women...

SMEs Credit Conditions during the Financial Crisis in Europe

Yaseen Ghulam

Prague Economic Papers 2019, 28(1):105-125 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.672  

This study examines the role of firm-specific, macroeconomic, banking and financial environment factors in determining whether they were able to access external finance during the global financial crisis. Heckman's selection approach is used to model the demand and supply of credit in the euro area during and after the financial crisis period. We conclude that since 2011, when the rejection probabilities for external credit applications peaked, the chances of obtaining credit have improved. However, young and small firms are still more likely to have their credit applications rejected. A decrease in government support such as guarantees increases the...