Labor Institutions and their Impact on Shadow Economies in Europe

This paper analyzes the role of labor market institutions in explaining developments of shadow economies in European countries. We use several alternative measures of the shadow sector, and we examine effects of labor institutions on shadow sector in two specific regions: new and old European Union member countries, as their respective shadow sectors exhibited a different development in the last decade. While the share of shadow economy in GDP averaged 27.7% in the new member countries in 1999-2007, the respective share in the old member states stood at 18.0% only. In our paper, we estimate effects of labor market institutions on two sets of shadow economy indicators―shadow production and shadow employment. Comparing alternative measures of the shadow sector allows more granulated analysis of the labor market institutions effects. Our results indicate that the one institution that unambiguously increases shadow economy production and employment is the strictness of employment protection legislation. Other labor market institutions―active and passive labor market policies, labor taxation, trade union density and the minimum wage setting―have less straightforward and statistically robust effects and their impact often diverge in new and old EU member countries. The differences are not robust enough, however, to allow us to reject the hypothesis of similar effect of labor market institutions in new and old EU member states.labor market institutions, shadow economy, shadow employment, European Union

Minimum Wage: Labour Market Consequences in the Czech Republic

This paper aims to quantify the impact of the minimum wage on labour market performance in the Czech Republic. Using regional data for 1995-2004, it estimates the effect of the minimum wage adjusted for regional wage differential on the regional unemployment. Consequently, using detail individual data from 2004/2005, we analyze the annual hikes in the minimum wage that allow us to estimate employment probabilities for workers with wage level at, or close to, the new minimum wage. The aim is to reveal whether the most endangered groups of workers exhibited significantly different employment probabilities. Our results reveal that the minimum wage has had a significant impact on increasing regional unemployment and reducing the employment probabilities of low-paid workers.minimum wage, employment probability, unemployment

The Minimum Wage: Labor Market Consequences in the Czech Republic

This paper aims to quantify the impact of the minimum wage on labor market performance in the Czech Republic. Using regional data for 1995–2004, it estimates the effect of the minimum wage adjusted for the regional wage differential on regional unemployment. Consequently, using detailed individual data from 2004/2005, the authors analyze the annual hikes in the minimum wage, which allow them to estimate employment probabilities for workers with a wage level at, or close to, the new minimum wage. The aim is to reveal whether the most endangered groups of workers exhibited significantly different subsequent employment probabilities. The autors´ results reveal that the minimum wage has had a significant impact in terms of increasing regional unemployment and reducing the employment probabilities of low-paid workers.minimum wage, employment probability, unemployment

Labor Market Participation: The Impact of Social Benefits in the Czech Republic

This paper aims to quantify the impact of social benefits on labor market participation in the Czech Republic. It applies the logistic regression to estimate the probability of labor market participation depending on social benefits related to net wage of the individuals, controlling for individual and household characteristics (age, presence of spouse and children etc.). The work disincentives via social benefits do exist and proved to be relatively strong. When trying to understand the reasons for recently decreasing participation rate in the Czech Republic, the often called “generous” Czech social benefit system appears to be relevant.inactivity trap, labor market participation, social benefits

Labour Market Institutions and their Effect on Labour Market Performance in the New EU Member Countries

This article focuses on the role of labour market institutions in explaining different labour market developments in European countries, with a special attention to the new European Union member countries. This may allow us to analyse effects of various institutional setups and of their changes on major labour market indicators. We aim at complementing several studies from the late 1990’s by using more recent data that allow us to compare institutional setups from the mid 1990’s and early 2000’s both in “old” and “new” EU member states. We estimate effects of labour market institutions on various performance indicators (unemployment, long-term unemployment, employment, activity rate). Our results confirm that high taxes increase unemployment, while active labour market policies tend to reduce it. We also show that stricter employment protection, higher taxes and larger economic burden represented by the minimum wage decrease employment and activity rate. Moreover, statistical tests indicate that there is a difference in the institutional effects between “old” and “new” EU members.labour market, unemployment, European Union, labour market institutions

Intra-household distribution of resources and income poverty and inequality in Visegrád countries

Purpose: The authors aim to demonstrate the impact of allowing for unequal intra-household distribution of resources on income poverty and income inequality. Design/methodology/approach: The paper applies a collective consumption model to study the intra-household distribution of resources in Visegrád countries (V4). It utilises subjective financial satisfaction as a proxy for indirect utility from individual consumption to estimate the indifference scales within couples instead of the traditional equivalence scale. The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) 2013 and 2018 data are applied. Findings: This study’s results indicate substantial economies of scale from living in a couple that are generally higher than implied by the commonly applied equivalence scale. The sharing rule estimates suggest that at the mean of distribution factors, women receive a consumption share between 0.4 and 0.6; however, some of the results are close to an equal sharing of 0.5. The female consumption share rises with her contribution to household income. Regarding income poverty and inequality, the authors show that both these measures might be underestimated in the traditional approach to equal sharing of resources. Originality/value: The authors add to the empirics by estimating indifference scales for Czechia (CZ), Hungary (HU), Poland (PL) and Slovakia (SK), countries that have not been involved in previous research

Minimum Wage: Development and Economic Consequences in the Czech Republic / Minimální mzda: vývoj a ekonomické souvislosti v České republice [available in Czech only]

The paper summarises the results of various economic concepts of minimum wage. Consecutively, it presents an analysis of the minimum wage development in the Czech Republic since its introduction in 1991 and of the impact of substantial changes in its level, which can be observed since 1999. The attention is focused on both its potential benefits in sense of reducing poverty and increasing the incomes of the poorest households, and on its potential negative impact on regional labour markets in sense of increasing unemployment. The results of the econometric analyses suggest that while there is a significant impact on increasing regional unemployment, potential benefits on raising incomes of the poor households seem to be insignificant. Therefore it seems valid to claim that minimum wage in the Czech Republic has not been a very purposeful instrument effective in decreasing poverty so far.wage, poverty, regional unemployment

Low Pay and Political Attitudes in Europe: Is There an East-West Divide?

Employing 2018 European Social Survey data in a multilevel framework, the paper aims to estimate the effect of working for low pay on a wide range of political attitudes and to explain the attitudinal differences between the Central and Eastern European (CEE) and Western European regions based on their differing socioeconomic and political background. The results suggest that it is mainly the lower living standard of inhabitants together with widespread wage inequality and not the specific legacy of the communist regimes that undermine the individual’s perception of influence on politics, political confidence and satisfaction with democracy in CEE. The results also indicate that working for low pay has a significant positive effect on the individual’s trust in politicians, but the relationship is moderated by the country’s economic development and is only significant in rich countries

Zátěž učitele v době distanční výuky

This thesis deals with the topic of teacher burdens at the time of distance learning. In the theoretical part I define the concepts of teacher, burden, teacher training and distance learning. The practical part is based on the method of case studies in qualitatively oriented research. The aim of teaching research is to find out, describe and explain the attitudes of the Education Corps to distance learning pupils at the 2nd grade elementary school