Purpose of this paper is to analyze the convergence of the consumption structure, both at the empirical and the theoretical levels. The basic empirical result is that the consumption structure converges quite quickly. We feel that the income effect is not sufficient to explain this high speed....

The European Union (EU) accepted ten new member states (NMS) in 2004. These countries, mostly former socialist countries, have had to adjust their economic policies to the EU’s standards. Perhaps most difficult has proven to be fiscal policy whereby NMS must comply with the Stability and...

This paper analyses the European budget and the position of the ten new member states. We argue that the EU budget should be reconsidered, as the Union has expanded to 27 member states and has become more heterogeneous. The budget priorities must be re-oriented towards potentially productive...

In this paper, we set out to examine an efficient fiscal-policy framework for a monetary union. We illustrate that fiscal policy’s bias toward budget deficit only temporarily ceased at the end of the 20th century as European countries endeavored to qualify for euro-zone membership, which...

The coordination of the economic policies of the EU Member countries started in the early 90´ s has become a permanent feature of the European integration process. Gradually a rather complicated mechanism has evolved aiming to combine and complement policies pursued at EU level with policies...

The recent financial crisis emphasised the need for effective financial stability analyses and tools for detecting systemic risk. This paper looks at assessment of banking sector resilience through stress testing. We argue such analyses are valuable even in emerging economies that suffer from...

This paper compares the bank regulatory regimes in the enlarged European Union in order to test the thesis claiming that international banking standards need to be adapted to emerging market circumstances. On the basis of World Bank surveys, we compile structural indices for the 10...

n this paper we study three crucial questions of economic decision-making: a) How are the people motivated in the choice of profession (career) and schools? This is also a decision that deals with the criteria for building the human capital of various specialisations. b) Can enterprises rely on...

This paper focuses on policy measures taken to curb the private sector credit growth in the period 2003-2008. Our analysis is based on an original survey performed on eleven central banks in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The findings reveal high intensity of policy intervention: altogether...

This paper introduces a model for stress testing of probability of default of individuals. The model rests on assumption that the individual defaults if his savings fall below zero. The probability of default is then described as a function of several macroeconomic indicators such as wages,...