Statistical properties of the total variation estimator for compositional data

The sample space of compositional data, a simplex, induces a different kind of geometry, known as Aitchison geometry, with the Euclidean space property. For this reason, the standard statistical analysis is not meaningful here, and this is also true for measures of location and covariance. The measure of location, called centre, is the best linear unbiased estimator of the central tendency of the distribution of a random composition with respect to the geometry on the simplex (Pawlowsky-Glahn and Egozcue in Stoch Envir Res Risk Ass, 15:384–398, 2001; Math Geol, 34:259–274, 2002). Its covariance structure is described through a variation matrix, which induces the so called total variation as a measure of dispersion. The aim of the paper is to show that its sample counterpart has theoretical properties, corresponding to the standard multivariate case, like unbiasedness and convergence in probability. Moreover, its distribution in the case of normality on the simplex is developed.     

Time-varying synchronization of European stock markets

We study intraday comovements among three developed (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) and three emerging (the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland) European stock markets. When applying a Dynamic Conditional Correlation GARCH model to 5- min tick intraday stock price data (2003–2006), we find a strong correlation between the German and French markets and also between these two markets and the UK stock market. However, very little systematic positive correlation during a trading day can be detected between the developed and emerging stock markets, or within the emerging group itself. Hungary exhibits higher correlation with the developing markets and the emerging markets and its dynamics show an increasing trend; Poland and the Czech Republic produce less clear-cut results.     

Transition,regulation and trade in services

Market-oriented reforms launched at the beginning of the 1990s have had a profound impact on the restructuring of the service sector in transition economies. Reforms have introduced complex regulatory changes that substantially diminished the barriers to competition in services, thereby improving the supply of services. The article explores the patterns and effects of regulatory changes in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) on services exports in the period 1993–2004. The econometric analysis finds a statistically significant impact of the regulatory reforms on service exports. The effects are more significant for the period 1999–2004 and seem to suggest that efficient implementation of reforms during the accession process had beneficial consequences also for service exports. However, there is enough room for the CEECs to dismantle further the obstacles to services provision and to improve the governance of the service markets within the internal market for services.     

Testing for stochastic dominance using the weighted McFadden-type statistic

We demonstrate that when testing for stochastic dominance of order three and above, using a weighted version of the Kolmogorov–Smirnov-type statistic proposed by McFadden [1989. In: Fomby, T.B., Seo, T.K. (Eds.), Studies in the Economics of Uncertainty. Springer, New York, pp. 113–134] is necessary for obtaining a non-degenerate asymptotic distribution. Since the asymptotic distribution is complex, we discuss a bootstrap approximation for it in the context of a real application.     

A macroeconomic model and stability analysis by parameters

This article focuses on the New Keynesian multiple-equations small-open-economy macroeconomic model to illustrate deeper relations among model parameters. These relations are more important than the basic values of the parameters because it shows how the system behaves when some changes in the economy occur. The first stage of the analysis introduces a theoretical model. The second stage of the analysis estimates the states and parameters of the model on the quarterly data of the Czech economy. The third stage of the analysis focuses on the transfer function of this model and makes a deeper behavior analysis. In the final stage, the article demonstrates the stability of the model, shown through the impulse functions of the model. This shows response of the macroeconomic model to unanticipated shocks. This paper is part of the research activities for the grant project of GA CR Number 402/02/0393.     

The Role and Current Status of IFRS in the Completion of National Accounting Rules – Evidence from Slovenia

Abstract

We provide an overview of the role and current status of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the development of national accounting rules in Slovenia. The basic requirements of the financial reporting in Slovenia are set in the Companies Act, while the Slovenian accounting standards (SAS) provide a detailed authoritative guidance, especially on measurement. We describe the (historical) relations of all four editions of SAS with IFRS, provide explanations for the close alignment of SAS 2006 and SAS 2016 with IFRS, and identify major differences. In addition, the paper covers the adoption of the new EU accounting Directive into Slovenian legislation.     

Unified GIS database on cycle tourism infrastructure

Bicycles are used in the Czech Republic for commuting to work and for leisure time activities. This is reflected in the cycle trail administrators' offer to make the existing network denser, design new routes, mark their courses and install a complementary cycle infrastructure.     

Functional Foods and the Young

Factors such as raised consciousness about human health, development of the food industry, and medicine and branches of natural science studying the relation between nutrition and health have led to the popularization of foods with proven health effects. Such foods are called functional foods. Although there is growing interest in functional foods, there are several groups of consumers that are, more than others, interested in functional foods. To examine buying behavior and attitudes toward functional food of young consumers (18–30 years old) and to determine the most interested consumers, we conducted a survey using a self-administered questionnaire on a sample of 570 Croatian students. The majority of the respondents purchase functional foods, usually in supermarkets. Apart from taste, the most important functional food attribute is price/quality ratio. Respondents are buying functional foods because they believe that those foods are healthier and safer than other products. Examined market segments were based on respondents’ attitudes toward functional foods. The results of this research could be used in planning further development of the functional foods market for young consumers.     

Wage posting: evidence from job ads

Abstract Recent studies of search theory examine how employers use a wage‐setting mechanism – either by bargaining or through the posting of a non‐negotiable wage offer in a job ad – to facilitate search. We contribute to this literature by examining wage posting in job ads in the US, the UK, and Slovenia. Despite considerable differences in the incidence of wage posting, employers in all three markets are less likely to post a wage offer when searching for skilled workers. The decision on whether or not to post a wage offer is only weakly related to the outcomes of employers’ search.