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.     

The participation of Russian households in the informal economy: Evidence from the VTsIOM data

This study presents the size and structure of secondary employment in Russia, analyses the determinants of Russian informal secondary employment, and discusses differences between job qualifications in a main job and those in a secondary job. We estimate that 27 percent of Russia’s GDP was produced in the informal economy during 1997–98 and informal secondary employment amounts to about 20 percent of value added produced in the informal economy. We found that the probability of holding an informal secondary job as opposed to a formal one is positively associated with higher wage rates and lower education. However, there is little evidence that low income is correlated with holding an informal secondary job. We also found evidence that an informal secondary job requires lower job qualifications as compared to a formal one. Again, low income is not significant in determining differences between job qualifications in a main job and those in a secondary job. JEL classification: J22, J24, O17, P20.     

Financial and Institutional Barriers to SME Growth in Albania: Results of an Enterprise Survey

The early transition period witnessed the rapid growth of Albanian SMEs despite the fact that the country was subjected to several severe shocks, especially those associated with the collapse of the pyramid schemes and the war in Kosovo. The growth of small enterprises in agriculture, trade, services, and construction, with microenterprises constituting the bulk of SMEs, has been the engine of growth and contributed to the long term recovery of Albanian economy. However, the growth of SMEs has been hampered by a variety of barriers erected, directly or indirectly, by the state. Fiscal constraints particularly high rate of taxes and contributions, financial constraints and the institutional environment have been some of the major barriers they have had to surmount. These barriers have encouraged many firms to conduct some or all of their activities in the informal sector of the economy. The survey of fifty SMEs established since 1992 highlights the difficulties faced by these enterprises in the environment of early transition. The econometric evidence confirms the role of financial barriers to SME growth, especially when they are combined with the poor institutional environment. The results show that the government has to embark on SME policies designed to disseminate the information on support programmes widely, and to speed up the reform of the financial system, legal framework and law enforcement.     

Water in the desert? The influence of Wilhelm Röpke on Ludwig Erhard and the social market economy

It is commonly believed that Wilhelm Röpke heavily influenced Ludwig Erhard and, through him, West Germany’s social market economy. This article demonstrates that Röpke’s influence on Erhard was limited. Although the two men shared many common ideals, they also differed on many fundamental issues. Moreover, Erhard developed his ideas before he read Röpke’s wartime trilogy.     

Structural and geographical patterns of knowledge networks in emerging technological standards: evidence from the European GNSS industry

The concentration and dispersion of innovative activities in space have been largely explained and evidenced by the nature of knowledge and the geographical extent of knowledge spillovers. One of the empirical challenges is to go beyond this by understanding how the geography of innovation is shaped by particular structural properties of knowledge networks. This paper contributes to this challenge, focusing on the particular case of global navigation satellite systems at the European level. We exploit a database of R&D collaborative projects based on the fifth and sixth European Union Framework Programs, and apply social network analysis in economic geography. We study the properties both of the network of organizations and the network of collaborative projects. We show that the nature of the knowledge involved in relationships influences the geographical and structural organizations of the technological field. The observed coexistence of a relational core/periphery structure with a geographical cluster/pipeline one is discussed in the light of the industrial and geographical dynamics of technological standards.     

湖南省农村留守老年人社会化养老问题调查研究报告——以湖南省岳阳、常德、湘潭三地为例

利用394位留守老年人问卷调查数据,对湖南省岳阳、常德、湘潭三地留守老年人社会化养老需求作出评估。从个人情况、家庭情况、经济情况、生活感受四方面对老年人进行分析。其创新点在于,客观数据与老年人主观感受相结合,从老年人对养老主观感受分析数据反映问题及其原因。采用定性研究和定量研究相结合的研究方法,结合社会化养老研究现状,实地调研养老需求状况,并进行分析。立论具有一定代表性。