The paper provides an introduction to essays published in this volume, which focus on nominal and real convergence in transition countries. The paper is based on the idea that the process of convergence can, to a large extent, be viewed via developments in real exchange rates. Key issues...

The concept of an optimum-currency-area (or OCA) index has often been used to assess the relative proximity of various pairs of economies to the ideal of an optimum currency area. In this paper, we suggest improving the construction of the index in several ways, primarily by making it sensitive...

The paper investigates the equilibrium exchange rate of the Czech koruna using the reduced-form equation of the stock-flow approach advocated by, for example, Faruqee (1995) and Alberola et al. (1999). We investigate whether the observed real exchange rate of the Czech koruna is close to its...

This paper aims at estimating the exchange rate pass-through (ERPT) for the Czech Republic. The existing empirical literature does not come to a consensus about the degree of pass-through to Czech inflation. Since there is no unique approach regarding how to measure ERPT, the author uses 11...

In this paper we investigate purchasing power parity in the CEE and post-war former Yugoslav countries during the EU integration process in 1994–2006. This work stems from longer-term tests of real exchange rate convergence in the former Yugoslavia. This period is of interest on two fronts:...

The annual meeting of the European Economic Association took place in Bolzano, Italy this year. There were more than 120 seminars, many panel discussions, and three main lectures presented. The seminars covered a broad range of issues related to economic theory and to applied research....

This paper considers various options replication methods. Firstly, a specific type of barrier option, an up-and-out call, is considered. Other barrier options are briefly also described, and various types of barriers are considered. Secondly, a general definition of replication methods is...

This paper considers two aspects of a recent pension reform in Slovakia: the financial balance of the former pay-as-you-go system, and the level of retirement pensions in a newly introduced two-pillar system. Generally, there are three important steps to sustainable pension reform: a change of...

Since January 2005, pensions in Slovakia are operated by a three-pillar system as proposed by the World Bank. This paper concentrates on the mandatory, fully funded second pillar. The authors present a dynamic accumulation model for determining the optimal switching strategy among pension funds...

This paper deals with Alternative Risk Transfer (ART) through the securitization of longevity and mortality risks in pension plans and commercial life insurance. Various types of such mortality-linked securities are described (e.g., CATM bonds, longevity bonds, mortality forwards and futures,...