The influence of owners on voucher provatized firms in the Czech Republic

This paper analyses evidence gathered via a survey of former state enterprises in the Czech Republic to investigate how far these now privatized firms have been subject to the influence and control of their new owners, principally investment privatization funds. The paper summarizes the survey evidence and sets out its findings under two broad headings: First, the extent and nature of the way these funds have sought to exercies control over the firms they own; and second, the various facets of a firm's operations that have, or have not, been altered by the change of owner. The paper discusses the reasons behing the findings, arguing particularly that Czech voucher privatization, although in itself complete, should be seen and judged as the real privatization and not the finish.     

Use of social networks in banking: a study in the Czech Republic

Social networks are becoming more and more important nowadays. Apart from regular users of the Internet, companies have started to use them in their business. Their potential is that a great number of people, future clients of big companies, use them on a daily basis. Thus, the aim of this article is to analyse the use of social networks in the banking sector of the Czech Republic, particularly with respect to customer support. The methods of this study include common data analysis and professional analysis. Common data analysis consists of the evaluation of public data from social networks and web pages of the selected bank institutions. The professional analysis is conducted by paid professional analytical tools that provide more detailed statistics. The findings of the study show that social networks are now well-established tools for the Czech banks to attract both their current and potential clients. The Czech banks seem to care about their clients by trying to meet their needs. Customer care and services provided, however, differ with type of bank.     

捷克研发创新理事会活动情况概述

捷克研究、发展和创新理事会是捷克政府科技创新管理领域专家咨询机构,在捷克研发创新体系中发挥着核心作用。本文介绍了理事会职能、人员组成、工作机制,以及近期为推动创新开展的重点工作,为深入了解捷克研发创新政策和战略、重点发展领域,以及专家咨询机制在创新发展中的作用提供了有益借鉴。     

Economic and clinical comparison of atypical depot antipsychotic drugs for treatment of chronic schizophrenia in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Purpose:

The Czech Republic is faced with making choices between pharmaceutical products, including depot injectable antipsychotics. A pharmacoeconomic analysis was conducted to determine the cost-effectiveness of atypical depots.

Methods:

An existing 1-year decision-analytic framework was adapted to model drug use in this healthcare system. The average direct costs to the General Insurance Company of the Czech Republic of using paliperidone palmitate (Xeplion®), risperidone (Risperdal Consta®), and olanzapine pamoate (Zypadhera®) were determined. Literature-derived clinical rates populated the model, with costs adjusted to 2012 Euros using the consumer price index. Outcomes included quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), days in remission, and proportions hospitalized or visiting emergency rooms. One-way sensitivity analyses were calculated for all important inputs. A multivariate probability analysis was used to examine the stability of results using 10,000 iterations of simulated input over reasonable ranges of all included variables.

Results:

Expected average costs/per patient treated were €5377 for PP-LAI, €6118 for RIS-LAI, and €6537 for OLZ-LAI. Respective QALYs were 0.817, 0.809, and 0.811; ER visits were 0.127, 0.134, and 0.141; hospitalizations were 0.252, 0.298, and 0.289. Results were generally robust in sensitivity analyses. PP-LAI dominated RIS-LAI and OLZ-LAI in 90.2% and 92.1% of simulations, respectively. Results were insensitive to drug prices but sensitive to adherence and hospitalization rates.

Conclusions:

PP-LAI dominated the other two drugs, as it had a lower overall cost and superior clinical outcomes, making it the preferred choice. Using PP-LAI in place of RIS-LAI for chronic relapsing schizophrenia would reduce the overall costs of care for the healthcare system.     

Cost-effectiveness of denosumab versus zoledronic acid for preventing skeletal-related events in the Czech Republic

Aims: This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of the subcutaneous RANKL inhibitor, denosumab, vs the intravenous bisphosphonate, zoledronic acid, for the prevention of skeletal-related events (SREs) in patients with prostate cancer, breast cancer, and other solid tumors (OST) in the Czech Republic.

Materials and methods: A lifetime Markov model was developed to compare the effects of denosumab and zoledronic acid on costs (including drug costs and administration, patient management, SREs, and adverse events), quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios from a national payer perspective. Different discount rates, time horizons, SRE rates, distributions, and nature (asymptomatic vs all SREs), and the inclusion of treatment discontinuation were considered in scenario analyses. The robustness of the model was tested using deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses.

Results: Across tumor types, denosumab was associated with fewer SREs, improved QALYs, and higher total costs over a lifetime. The incremental cost per QALY gained for denosumab vs zoledronic acid was 382,673 CZK for prostate cancer, 408,450 CZK for breast cancer, and 608,133 CZK for OST. Incremental costs per SRE avoided for the same tumor type were 54,007 CZK, 51,765 CZK, and 94,426 CZK, respectively. In scenario analyses, the results remained similar to baseline, when different discount rates and time horizons were considered. At a non-official willingness-to-pay threshold of 1.2 million CZK, the probabilities of denosumab being cost-effective vs zoledronic acid were 0.64, 0.67, and 0.49 for prostate cancer, breast cancer, and OST, respectively.

Limitations: The SRE rates used were obtained from clinical trials; studies suggest rates may be higher in clinical practice. Additional evidence on real-world SRE rates could further improve the accuracy of the modeling.

Conclusions: Compared with zoledronic acid, denosumab provides a cost-effective treatment option for the prevention of SREs in patients with prostate cancer, breast cancer, and OST in the Czech Republic.     

Increased sorting and wage inequality in the Czech Republic

This paper makes use of a linked employer–employee dataset to examine the evolution of wage inequality in the Czech Republic during 1998–2006. We find evidence of slightly increasing returns to human capital and diminishing gender inequality and document sharp increases in both within‐firm and between‐firm inequality. We investigate several hypotheses to explain these patterns: increased domestic and international competition, decentralized wage bargaining, skill‐biased technological change and a changing educational composition of the workforce. Domestic competition is found to lower within‐firm inequality whereas we find no evidence that increased international trade at the industry level is associated with higher between‐ or within‐firm wage inequality. The key factors driving the observed increase in wage inequality are increased educational sorting and the inflow of foreign firms to the Czech Republic.     

The effects of multinationals on host economies: A CGE approach

This paper offers a new perspective regarding the effects on a host economy of the entry of multinational enterprises (MNEs). We use a computable general equilibrium (CGE) approach, through a version of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model extended to incorporate MNEs. The analysis is applied to the Czech Republic, a country that has received substantial inflows of foreign direct investment in the last few years. A special attention has been paid to the issue of profit repatriation. We find that the negative effects of profit repatriation are sizeable, and might even offset the positive impact of the entry of MNEs.     

Innovation in foreign enterprises: the influence exerted by location and absorptive capacity

ABSTRACT

This paper has as its aim to analyse multinational enterprises’ location decisions from the perspective of the knowledge-based firm in an attempt to answer the following questions: Are innovative MNEs more likely to be located in areas with a higher degree of agglomeration? Who benefits to a greater extent ? in terms of innovation ? from geographical proximity with other agents: national or foreign enterprises? What role does absorptive capacity play in the relationship between agglomeration and innovation? According to this research work, agglomeration differently influences the innovation of MNE subsidiaries – through knowledge spillovers – depending on the types of agglomerated companies. The analysis performed with a sample of firms located in Spain includes local and foreign companies and uses data from a survey conducted by the National Statistics Institute (INE for its Spanish initials) in 2016. The results show that the agglomeration of similar enterprises favours innovation amongst foreign firms, as opposed to local ones, which absorb both positive and negative effects.     

Estimating the revenue losses of international corporate tax avoidance: the case of the Czech Republic

International corporate tax avoidance by multinational enterprises likely lowers the Czech Republic’s corporate income tax revenue, but it is not clear by how much. To clarify this I first review existing estimates of the revenue losses of international corporate tax avoidance to government revenue worldwide. I then discuss revenue estimates relevant for the Czech Republic and develop a few new, albeit only illustrative, ones. None of the existing research focused on the Czech Republic nor did the six recent international studies I examine provide reliable estimates for the Czech Republic. The extrapolations from these studies result in a revenue loss of a quite wide range with a median of 10% of current corporate income tax revenues. The other newly prepared estimates, based on firm-level and aggregate data, are of similar magnitude. I conclude with a discussion of these rough estimates as well as questions for further research and policy recommendations.     

Municipal Finance in Poland,the Slovak Republic,the Czech Republic and Hungary: Institutional Framework and Recent Development

The recent process of political and economic transition in eastern European countries has not only contributed to the decentralisation of political structure but also significantly enhanced the fiscal autonomy of municipalities in these countries. In this context many similar types of public activities have recently been assigned to local governments, and some taxes were also declared to be local taxes. To be sure, this type of fiscal decentralisation has caused some additional problems, particularly for safeguarding the quality of publicly provided goods and services and for co-ordinating intergovernmental fiscal transfers between the central and local governments. For instance, some criticise that many small-sized municipalities in the transition economies have suffered from financial bottlenecks and have not been able to receive sufficient financial support from the central government. However, such a fiscal devolution trend appears to continue. This study primarily deals with issues surrounding the impact of national fiscal policy and the regulatory framework on local governments' expenditure behaviour and their ability to mobilise necessary revenues under the particular consideration of the institutional and administrative co-operation with the central government and of the less well-developed financial market in Poland, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic and Hungary.     

The role of banks in the Czech monetary policy transmission mechanism

With this work, I aim to enrich the knowledge about the monetary policy transmission mechanism in the Czech Republic with empirical evidence on the impact of monetary policy on bank lending. Using a panel of quarterly time series for Czech commercial banks for the period 1996–2001, I study the overall effect of monetary policy changes on the growth rate of loans and the characteristics of the supply of loans. The characterization of the credit market's supply side allows us to make inferences on the operativeness of the credit channel (the bank lending channel and the broad credit channel) of the monetary transmission mechanism. I find that changes in monetary policy alter the growth rate of loans, with considerably stronger magnitude in the period 1999–2001 than in the period 1996–1998. From the analysis intended to capture the characteristics of the supply of loans, I conclude that the lending channel was operative in the period 1996–1998: I find cross‐sectional differences in the lending reactions to monetary policy shocks due to the degree of capitalization and to liquidity. For the subsequent period 1999–2001, the results also show distributional effects of monetary policy due to bank size and its bank's proportion of classified loans. In the context of steadily decreasing interest rates, this can bolster the supposition of financial frictions between borrowers and lenders and hence, that of an operative broad credit channel.     

跨国银行在华投资的省域选择

作为中国最活跃的金融机构之一,外资银行在大陆的投资活动受到各省级政府的关注。在确立跨国银行进入大陆省级区域基本理论框架的基础上,文章利用1996年初至2006年7月底在华265家外资银行机构的最新数据,运用条件Logit离散选择模型对跨国银行在华投资区域决定因子进行实证分析,结果显示:市场需求因素和区域金融基础设施因素对外资银行有显著的吸引力,而区域政策环境因素和经营成本因素则无显著影响。各省域招商外资银行的工作重点应立足发展本地经济、营造外资集聚、完善金融市场、提升人力资源管理水平和做好外资银行机构的服务等工作,而非一味地提供种种优惠。     

FDI区位决策中的产业集聚因素--基于长江三角洲(16城市)的实证研究

随着跨国公司的战略调整,产业集聚成为影响外商直接投资(FDI)区位决策的重要因素.长江三角洲作为我国引进外资的最重要地区,FDI在这一地区内部的区位决策主要受哪些因素影响呢?本文采用长江三角洲16城市的相关数据,运用对数线性模型和逐步回归方法并结合怀特(White)异方差检验,经验性地证实了:21世纪初以来,长江三角洲各城市的工业企业销售产值、FDI自我积累的因果效应机制等表征产业集聚状况的因素已成为影响FDI在这一地区进行区位决策的最重要因素.     

Analyzing the Efficiency of County Road Production – Evidence from Eastern German Counties

This study analyzes the efficiency of the road production by local governments using data envelopment analysis. The production of roads is a costly public service, which makes an efficiency analysis in this field an interesting subject. I enhance the previous literature, first, by examining the differences in the efficiencies of eastern German counties while considering the deformation of the pavement and foundation of roads, which previous studies have not included due to data limitations. Second, I use a unique dataset on road quality for my efficiency analysis and show that the efficiency levels differ from those in studies that apply proxies, such as the number of accidents, to capture the quality of roads. These findings indicate that there is a great need to develop reliable variables to describe government services. Additionally, I show that the correlations between efficiency levels and county characteristics vary greatly depending on the quality indicator used.     

促进早前期投融资的德国经验及其启示

德国中小企业的发展得益于促进早前期投融资的支持措施,归纳起来有以下特点:财政资助更加关注产学研结合和发挥市场力量,公私合作帮助科技型企业启动,间接支持与直接支持相结合解决初创期困境,创新初创期企业信贷支持模式等。德国的做法对于开展科技融资工作具有借鉴意义,如,建立投向企业的财政资金的硬约束机制,借鉴公私合作模式支持创新,在科技资源配置中引入市场机制,根据创新和企业发展的阶段采取系统化和多样化的资助方式等。借鉴德国经验,我国应健全科研经费分配机制,完善创业投资引导基金运作模式,提高政策性金融机构对创新支持的聚焦度,引导民间资本加大对早期创新创业的支持力度。     

Reforming the Taxation of Multijurisdictional Enterprises in Europe

In 2001, the European Commission proposed replacing the currentsystem of taxation of multinational companies by the taxationof a consolidated base, computed at the level of all the Europeanentities of a multinational enterprise, and then distributedfor taxation purposes among the various jurisdictions in whichthese entities operate, according to pre-established criteria.In this article, we propose a discussion, especially focusingon two related issues, the choice of the formula and the compositionof the consolidating area—either the entire European Union(EU) or some Member States within an Enhanced Cooperation Agreement—,as well as on their impact on the size and distribution of taxrevenue and economic activity, and on the intensity of tax competition.Our tentative policy conclusion is that the reform deservessupport provided that (i) the formula puts emphasis on criteriathat the firm may not too easily manipulate, (ii) the activitiesof the multijurisdictional enterprise are enough mobile, (iii)the consolidation is made compulsory within the consolidatingarea and (iv) the consolidating area protects its capacity toactually levy tax by adopting a crediting system vis-à-visthe rest of the world. (JEL code: H32, H73, H87)     

The poor outside the lamplight: on the prevalence of poverty among population groups not included in household surveys

Poverty rate calculations are often based on household surveys that exclude some of the groups most vulnerable to poverty such as the homeless. This paper documents the nature of the excluded groups and the quantitative importance of their omission for the Czech Republic. Our study combines European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions data for 2011 with information from the 2011 Population Census. Our preferred estimate indicates an increase in the poverty rate by almost one percentage point. The paper contributes to accurately identifying the most vulnerable members of the society, which is essential for setting effective social policies.     

The Presence of Multinational Banks and the Supply and Quality of Credit in Emerging Economies

Barriers to entry for multinational banks (MNBs) have been reduced in many countries. This paper studies the effect of the presence of MNBs on the supply and quality of credit in emerging economies. This study uses data from the Bank for International Settlements and the International Monetary Fund. The results indicate that the credit supply declines in response to increased competition from MNBs. However, the adverse effect of MNBs on the credit supply is less pronounced when the presence of MNBs is larger. The paper also provides some tentative results on the effect of MNBs on the quality of loans. The results suggest that banks shift their portfolios away from loans as a result of increased international financial competition, thereby reducing default risk, which is also reflected in a negative relationship between MNB presence and the chance of a banking crisis occurring.