Demand for Fuel and its Consequences for Indirect Taxation: A Microeconomic View

The author uses microeconomic theory, particularly demand theory, and econometrics to investigate the impact of proposed tax changes on the consumers. The effect of taxation can be investigated in two ways: the first possibility is to construct a multi-equation model able to analyze all taxes simultaneously. The second is to create a partial model for a specific tax, which would register subtler effects. The second approach is adopted here, with an exclusive focus on fuel-product excise taxes and their microeconomic impact. Two alternative approaches, instrumental variables and the Heckman two-step selection model, are used to estimate the demand function for fuel. The estimated demand function is then used toward a tax simulation and an investigation of the tax- -change effects on different segments of the population.consumer demand, excise taxes, tax simulation, nonparametric regression

Labor supply after transition: evidence from the Czech Republic

We extend the scarce evidence on labor supply in post-transition countries by estimating the wage elasticity of labor force participation in the Czech Republic. Using the household income survey data of 2002, we find that a one-percent rise in the gross wage increases the probability of working by 0.16 and 0.02 percentage points for women and men, respectively. Taking into account the tax and benefit system, these semi-elasticities fall to 0.06 for women and 0.01 for men. We interpret the difference between the estimates from the two specifications as a summary measure of the welfare system disincentives. The estimated wage elasticities lie at the lower end of the range of values reported for mature market economies. This finding is consistent with the stylized fact that the labor supply in countries with high labor force participation rates, such as in the Czech Republic, tends to be less sensitive to wages. JEL Classification: J22, J31, P30Labor supply, Transition, welfare system

Fiscal developments and financial stress: a threshold VAR analysis

We use a threshold VAR analysis to study whether the effects of fiscal policy on economic activity differ depending on financial market conditions. In particular, we investigate the possibility of a non-linear propagation of fiscal developments according to different financial market stress regimes. More specifically we employ a quarterly dataset, for the U.S., the U.K., Germany and Italy, for the period 1980:4-2009:4, encompassing macro, fiscal and financial variables. The results show that (i) the use of a nonlinear framework with regime switches is corroborated by nonlinearity tests; (ii) the responses of economic growth to a fiscal shock are mostly positive in both financial stress regimes; (iii) financial stress has a negative effect on output growth and worsens the fiscal position; (iv) the nonlinearity in the response of output growth to a fiscal shock is mainly associated with different behaviour across regimes; (v) the size of the fiscal multipliers is higher than average in the last crisis.fiscal policy, financial markets, threshold VAR

Labor Supply after Transition: Evidence from the Czech Republic

We extend the scarce evidence on the labor supply in post-transition countries by estimating the wage elasticity of labor force participation in the Czech Republic. Using household income survey data, we find that a one-percent rise in the gross wage increases the probability of working by 0.16 and 0.02 percentage points for women and men, respectively. Taking into account the tax and benefit system, these semi-elasticities fall to 0.06 for women and 0.01 for men. We interpret the difference between the estimates from the two specifications as a summary measure of the welfare system disincentives. The estimated wage elasticities lie at the lower end of the range of values reported for mature market economies. This finding is consistent with the stylized fact that the labor supply in countries with high labor force participation rates, such as the Czech Republic, tends to be less sensitive to wages.labor supply, transition, welfare system

Agreement on guilt and punishment

Tato diplomová práce se zabývá institutem dohody o vině a trestu, který byl zaveden do českého trestního řádu v roce 2012. Dohoda o vině a trestu představuje alternativní způsob vyřízení trestních věcí. Dohodu uzavírá státní zástupce a obviněný za současného zohlednění zájmů poškozeného. Podmínkou sjednání dohody o vině a trestu je prohlášení obviněného, že spáchal skutek, pro který je stíhán. Státní zástupce navrhne pro obviněného adekvátní trest za tento skutek, přičemž konečnou verzi dohody schvaluje soud. Pro obviněného tento procesní postup znamená zmírnění trestu výměnou za prohlášení o spáchání skutku. Výhodou pro orgány činné v trestním řízení je zkrácené a zjednodušené trestní řízení. Mezi další výhody řešení trestních věcí formou sjednání dohody o vině a trestu lze zařadit úsporu nákladů spojených se standardním řízením před soudem a ochrana poškozených. Institut dohody o vině a trestu pochází z angloamerické právní kultury, kde je jedním z pilířů trestního procesu. V českých podmínkách jde ale o institut cizí a kontroverzní, který je podroben silné kritice hlavně ze strany právních teoretiků. Cílem mé práce je zhodnotit, jestli dohoda o vině a trestu může být hojně využívaným institutem i v České republice, nebo se jedná o institut natolik cizorodý, že se v českých podmínkách nemůže...This master`s thesis deals with the topic of agreement on guilt and punishment, which was introduced into Czech criminal procedure code in 2012. The agreement on guilt and punishment represents an alternative way of solving criminal cases. The agreement is entered into by the prosecutor and the accused, while taking into account the interests of the injured party. A precondition of the conclusion of an agreement on guilt and punishment is the declaration of the accused that they committed the act for which they are prosecuted. The prosecutor proposes the adequate punishment for the act committed and the final version of the agreement has to be approved by the court. For the accused, this procedure means a mitigation of the sentence in exchange for a declaration of committing an act. An advantage for the law enforcement authorities is shorter and simplified criminal procedure. Other benefits of the conclusion of the agreement on guilt and punishment are the cost savings and the protection of injured parties. The institute of agreement on guilt and punishment has its origin in the Anglo-American legal system where it is one of the pillars of the criminal process. In the Czech context, however, it is a foreign and controversial institute, which is subject to strong criticism mainly by legal theorists....Department of Criminal LawKatedra trestního právaFaculty of LawPrávnická fakult

Fiscal developments and financial stress : a threshold VAR analysis

We use a threshold VAR analysis to study whether the effects of fiscal policy on economic activity differ depending on financial market conditions. In particular, we investigate the possibility of a non-linear propagation of fiscal developments according to different financial market stress regimes. More speciffically we employ a quarterly dataset, for the U.S., the U.K., Germany and Italy, for the period 1980:4-2009:4, encompassing macro, fiscal and financial variables. The results show that (i) the use of a nonlinear framework with regime switches is corroborated by nonlinearity tests; (ii) the responses of economic growth to a fiscal shock are mostly positive in both financial stress regimes; (iii) financial stress has a negative effect on output growth and worsens the fiscal position; (iv) the nonlinearity in the response of output growth to a fiscal shock is mainly associated with different behaviour across regimes; (v) the size of the fiscal multipliers is higher than average in the last crisis

Interest Rates Time Structure and Domestic Bond Prices

This paper considers and provides estimates of the term structure of interest rates based on observable bond prices. The paper opens with an account of the usefulness of the so-called zero-coupon yield curve as a tool for term structure modelling. Toward this, three methods are considered ? the Canadian model, the Nelson-Siegel model and its extension in the Svensson model. The author thereupon presents n both the estimation technique and the possible model restrictions. This theoretical background is applied to an estimation of the zero-coupon yield curve estimation derived from data from the Czech coupon bond market. Because of the relatively small number of coupon bonds currently available on the Czech market, the best results are produced by the Nelson-Siegel model. The growing number of state bond issues on the market, however, should increases the relevance of the Svensson model accordingly.yield curve; term structure of interest rates; bonds

How subcultures emerge

Sympatric speciation is typically presented as a rare phenomenon, but urban subcultures frequently emerge even in absence of geographic isolation. Is there perhaps something that culture has but biological inheritance does not that would account for this difference? We present a novel model that combines assortative interaction and multidimensional inheritance. Our computer simulations show that assortment alone can lead to the formation of cohesive clusters of individuals with low within-group and large between-group variability even in absence of a spatial separation or disruptive natural selection. All it takes is a proportionality between the variance of inputs (cultural ‘parents’) and outputs (cultural ‘offspring’). We argue that variability-dependent inheritance cannot be easily accomplished by genes alone, but it may be the norm, not the exception, in the transmission of culture between humans. This model explains the frequent emergence of subcultures and behavioural clustering in our species and possibly also other cultural animals

Stressful Daylight: Differences in Diel Rhythmicity Between Albino and Pigmented Fish

In laboratory experiments, variously colored strains of animals, including those with albino phenotypes, are commonly used. The melanocortin theory suggests, however, that coloration phenotypes alter animal physiology and behavior. Animals with the albino phenotype show photoreceptor degradation associated with lowered visual accuracy, escape reactions, etc., presumably accompanied by prevailing nocturnal activity and lowered aggressiveness. This assumption was tested in small groups of albino and pigmented European catfish, Silurus glanis, during the diel cycle. The frequency of agonistic interactions was observed during mutual contests for shelters, and subsequently, blood plasma, brain, gill, and liver samples were collected to evaluate stress parameters. In an experimental arena with shelters, the light/dark rhythmicity of locomotor activity and aggressiveness of the two phenotypes were comparable; the peak was observed at night, and a lower peak was observed at dawn. In an experimental stream without shelters, the peak of locomotor activity occurred at night for only the pigmented phenotype. In the evaluation of 4 antioxidants and 1 oxidative stress indicator, representing a total of 15 indices, albino fish showed significant rhythmicity for 8 indices, whereas pigmented catfish showed significant rhythmicity for 5 indices. The production of blood stress parameters with the peak during the day occurred only in albino fish. A complex model was fitted with the aim of evaluating the links between behavioral and biochemical indices. Time periodicity was modeled using a sine wave and confirmed parallel courses of agonistic interactions in the catfish groups; the peak at dawn was associated with a 4.08-fold (conf. int. 3.53–4.7) increase in such interactions. The changes in glucose and superoxide dismutase concentrations varied with phenotype, while the effects of cortisol, lactate and catalase did not. In summary, the rhythmicity of locomotor activity and changes in the aggressiveness of catfish were influenced by shelter availability, and the effect of light-induced stress was more apparent in albino fish than in pigmented conspecific fish. The results suggested that laboratory-raised animals with pigmentation patterns naturally occurring in the wild show more reasonable values during experiments than those with an albino phenotype

Fiscal developments and financial stress : a threshold VAR analysis

We use a threshold VAR analysis to study the linkages between changes in the debt ratio, economic activity and financial stress within different financial regimes. We use quarterly data for the US, the UK, Germany and Italy, for the period 1980:4– 2014:1, encompassing macro, fiscal and financial variables, and use nonlinear impulse responses allowing for endogenous regime-switches in response to structural shocks. The results show that output reacts mostly positively to an increase in the debt ratio in both financial stress regimes; however, the differences in estimated multipliers across regimes are relatively small. Furthermore, a financial stress shock has a negative effect on output and worsens the fiscal situation. The large time-variation and the estimated nonlinear impulse responses suggest that the size of the fiscal multipliers was higher than average in the 2008–2009 crisis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio