The Stability and Growth Pact has become a primary fiscal policy framework in all European countries since 1997. Together with Maastricht fiscal criteria it determines the fiscal discipline of integration process. The aim of this study is to evaluate ex-post effectiveness of the fiscal rules...

This paper studies whether the dynamic behavior of real GDP, unemployment and inflation is systematically affected by the timing of elections and by changes of governments in the Czech Republic. Two basic models of political cycles are tested – the political business cycle models and the...

This article, based on an empirical analysis, discusses factors affecting property prices and tries to identify periods of property price overvaluation in the Czech Republic. To achieve this, the article uses both relatively simple approach using ratios related to the house prices (e.g....

The paper provides an exploratory analysis of regional dynamics among 264 NUTS2 EU-27 regions over the period 1992-2006. Seven different regional indicators are analyzed including wages, household expenditures, retail sales, investments, productivity, GDP, and GDP adjusted for international...

The authors contend that the theory of optimum currency areas (OCA) provides a useful framework for discussions of monetary integration. The authors summarize the historical development of monetary integration and discuss possible future development. Theoretical issues, such as those raised in...

The article is concerned with analysis of independence of central banks of the EU Member States within the framework of the ESCB, as well as independence and responsibility of the ECB, and suggests an alternative institutional embodiment of its position, reflecting the specific framework of the...

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...

This paper surveys recent literature on real business cycles in open economies. It focuses on the empirical regularities of international macroeconomic fluctuations and provides a short discussion of the differences between the stylized facts of business cycles in advanced and in developing...

The exchange rate cannot significantly diverge from a (real) long-term equilibrium level consistent with the macroeconomic picture of an economy for a long period of time; otherwise, the economy suffers from macroeconomic imbalances such as below-potential growth and below natural employment, or...

The paper presents both theoretical and an empirical analysis of factors influencing the prices of non-tradable goods and services in the Czech economy. The analysis discusses the development of the real exchange rate of the Czech koruna and quantifies the size of the real exchange rate...