The paper examines why the pandemic recession hit the labour market in Slovakia differently from previous recessions. Traditionally, the unemployment rose sharply during previous economic recessions. Therefore, it seemed like a novelty when the unemployment rate rose only insignificantly in a...

Undue emphasis on short-term macroeconomic goals in transition countries impedes structural change, often resulting in a deterioration of achieved macroeconomic outcomes. Repeated attempts at stabilization are then required and structural reforms become more urgent, and more costly. Many of...

The present paper provides first empirical evidence on the relationship between market size and the number of firms for a transition economy. We estimate size thresholds required to support different numbers of firms for seven retail and professional service industries in a large number of...