Ekonomická revue. 2014, roč. 17

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/10084/101660

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Now showing 1 - 19 out of 19 results

Lenka Fojtíková a kol.: Postavení Evropské Unie v podmínkách globalizované světové ekonomiky : recenze
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Lipková, Ľudmila
Standardization of social services in the Czech Republic: Approaches and applications
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Halásková, Renáta
The standardization of social services is attracting much attention in the Czech Republic, mainly due to the neces-sity to guarantee quality in accordance with the Social Services Act of 2006. From the quantitative point of view, there are also recommended availability standards for various social services. Furthermore, since the two major financial sources of social services are interlinked, attention is also being paid to financial standardization. This contribution aims to provide an empirical view of the standardization of selected social care services in the Czech Republic from the quantitative viewpoint, based on theoretical aspects of social service standardization. The paper is dedicated to the application of standards in quantitative terms to selected social services in regions of the Czech Republic between 2007 and 2012. The availability analysis of selected social care services in the administrative regions of the Czech Republic and the comparison of the Czech Republic regions by the multidimensional scaling method showed that the largest administrative regions (Central Bohemia, Moravia-Silesia, South Moravia) and the smallest regions (Liberec and Karlovy Vary) are the least similar when it comes to selected social care services. In addition, the least similar regions according to the structure of the available social care services are the region of Usti nad Labem and the capital city of Prague.
Monitoring sustainable development and decoupling in the EU
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Drastichová, Magdaléna
The EU formulated a long-term sustainable development strategy in 2001 and renewed it in 2006. The progress of the EU against the challenges laid out in this strategy has been monitored by EU Sustainable Development Indica-tors. The aim of this paper is to examine how the EU has approached the sustainable development path using se-lected Sustainable Development Indicators. In this paper, attention is especially paid to resource productivity, material consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the EU economies and particularly in their transport sec-tors. The development of these indicators has varied across the EU countries. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the overall economies has shown favourable trends, in contrast to their development in the transport sectors. Stable or decreasing domestic material consumption (DMC) in the EU has often been associated with relatively low GDP growth rates and conversely high GDP growth rates with moderate or high increases in DMC. Therefore, the significant changes in trends due to the economic crisis are not the result of structural changes but rather a temporary interruption of longer-term trends. The EU has still not begun to fully follow the sustainable development path.
Types of deferred tuition and attempts to establish them in the Czech Republic
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Wawrosz, Petr; Heissler, Herbert
The budgets of Czech public universities depend heavily on public finance. Universities face an impossible trinity: all three goals that a country usually wants in university education – greater quantity, higher quality and moderate public spending – cannot be achieved simultaneously. The aim of the article is to discuss possible ways of increas-ing the share of student payments without reducing the number of students and preventing students from low-income groups from studying. Human capital contracts, graduated tax and income-contingent loans are introduced with examples of the systems used in Australia and England. The article also contains a list of the reasons why the Czech attempts to establish deferred tuition have failed and the problems that must be solved before another at-tempt is made.
Rebudgeting in Czech towns
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Sedmihradská, Lucie; Hrůza, Filip
About one-fifth of municipal budgets is approved during the course of the fiscal year through budget amendments. The aim of this paper is to explore the rebudgeting process in medium-sized Czech towns in regard to its magni-tude and character. Budget data are analysed for all 95 towns with 10 to 30 thousand inhabitants as well as infor-mation about the approved budget amendments and responsibility-sharing arrangements in 13 towns in 2012. Our analysis shows that the rebudgeting process is different for revenues and expenditures. Most of the revenues are included in the revised budget as soon as they materialize and the volume of the collected revenues is in line with the revised budget. On the other hand, substantial expenditure changes are approved through the budget amend-ments but the real spending is very close to what was originally budgeted for all types of expenditure. The com-parison of the praxis in the individual towns shows significant differences among them regarding the number of budget amendments, their extent and the arrangement for sharing responsibility between the municipal council and the commission.
Multiple-criteria decision making applied in the evaluation of corporate social responsibility using the AHP method
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Staňková, Štěpánka
Together with the managerial decision to run a business in accordance with corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles, important questions dealing with the necessity of systematic CSR evaluation and measurement should be answered. The main goal of this article is connected with a complex assessment of the CSR activities of two selected organizations operating in the Czech food processing market using the analytic hierarchy process method (AHP). The priorities for the criteria and sub-criteria of a hierarchically structured decision-making task are determined by Saaty’s pairwise comparison method based on the subjective opinions of an expert. The computed results are described with respect to a distributive mode synthesis and an ideal mode synthesis.
Statistická analýza smyslového hodnocení spotřebitelů vybraných odrůd bílého vína
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Borák, Jan; Novotná, Zuzana; Kovářová, Kateřina
This paper evaluates the preferences of domestic consumers in the purchase and consumption of selected varieties of wine: Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Pinot Gris. Consumers are influenced by the information provided by their own personal experience, studies, the media or friends. An important factor in consumer choice is also the label and the bottle of the wine itself. A pilot survey showed that consumer preferences change from their first impres-sion of a product based on their personal experience of the product, i.e. after tasting. This may be an important factor influencing the consumer’s preferences when selecting varieties of wine. The results can be used, for example, by grape wine retailers in their marketing mix.
Factors influencing savings from electronic auctions
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Klézl, Vojtěch
The ratio of public procurement undertaken through reverse electronic auctions is increasing rapidly. Czech and Slovak municipalities use this tool to save public funds through fostering direct competition between suppliers and to increase transparency. The main aim of this paper is to analyse the savings achieved through e-auctions and the factors influencing these. Five variables are tested to establish whether they influence the savings: number of participants (potential suppliers) in the e-auction, total value of the e-auction, size and country of origin of the municipality, and category of the procured product or service. Several methods are used to test independence. All of these factors except the country of origin influence the savings gained, which is in accordance with the findings of existing research.
Evaluation of factors affecting users’ satisfaction with online group buying based on SET
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Pawlasová, Pavlína
The topic of this paper is the evaluation of the factors that affect users’ satisfaction with online group buying. Social exchange theory was used to identify these factors. Reciprocity, reputation and trust, proposed by social exchange theory, and vendors’ creativity and customers’ satisfaction with the purchase can be included among these factors. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the factors affecting customer satisfaction with online group buying and to validate the proposed factor model in the conditions of the Czech Republic. The method of structur-al equation modelling is used to evaluate the factors and validate the model. It is found that the proposed model is not optimal in the Czech conditions. The results confirm that trust, vendors’ innovations and creativity and cus-tomers’ pleasure, contentment and delight are the most important factors for Czech customers.
The performance of high-tech companies: The evidence from the Visegrad Group
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Afonina, Anna; Chalupský, Vladimír
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the financial performance of large high-tech companies (both product- and service-oriented) in the Visegrad Four (V4) countries. We concentrate on the five-year period from 2007 to 2011. As the performance indicators, the most frequent financial measures – liquidity, profitability and solvency ratios – are used. We use two-dimensional classification to analyse the financial situation of large high-tech companies among the countries in the Visegrad Group. The research sample includes 139 Czech, 68 Hungarian, 270 Polish and 37 Slovak large high-tech companies. The results from this study indicate that the profitability, liquidity and solvency ratios increased in large manufacturing high-tech companies within the investigated period in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, while in Poland and Hungary the situation in the manufacturing sector was exactly the opposite. In terms of the service high-tech sector in the Visegrad countries, the ratios are volatile with a decreas-ing tendency. The results also indicate that the high-tech sector consists of companies with high liquidity, rather than companies with strong profits. Finally, correlation and regression analyses are conducted to examine the nature and extent of the relationship between profitability and liquidity.
Effect of IFRS adoption on reported earnings: empirical study on Germany and Spain
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Miková, Tereza
Since 2005, when the IFRSs were mandatorily adopted for publicly traded companies within the European Union, their influence on accounting quality began to grow in importance. This paper examines the effect of the Interna-tional Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) on earnings quality during the period 2000–2013. The research sample consists of 358 companies from 2 European countries – Germany and Spain. The sample contains compa-nies that firstly used local accounting standards and later on switched to reporting under IFRSs. This paper con-tributes to the current academic discussion more empirical evidence from a typically strong European economy (Germany) and from an opposite representative (Spain). It investigates the IFRSs’ influence on earnings quality by small reported profits to small reported losses ratios. The research findings do not support the aim of the IFRSs to improve the reporting quality in the examined countries.
Qualitative assumptions of elected representatives and officers in local self-government in the Slovak Republic
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Papcunová, Viera; Gecíková, Ivana
The quality of representatives’ decision making is largely contingent on their qualifications and experience. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the qualitative assumptions of elected representatives and officers in local selfgovernment from the viewpoint of the local inhabitants – the voters. The research was conducted with a sample of selected inhabitants–voters on the local level by questionnaire, in which the inhabitants gave their opinions about their qualitative assumptions regarding the mayor’s and council members’ public function performance. The inhabitants also gave their opinions on the qualities of the professional staff of the municipal office – the officers. The results showed that the inhabitants prefer credibility and personal authority in the public function performance of elected representatives and the method of communication and a professional approach by officers.
Application of the analytic hierarchy process method in a comparison of financial leasing and loans
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Chalúpková, Eva; Franek, Jiří
Decision making is an integral part of all business processes. Some decisions are spontaneous and others time consuming, requiring detailed information about their implications. Decision making can be performed according to perspectives that may also be conflicting in nature. Models that are helpful in dealing with such problems are multi-criteria decision-making methods. The most important method in this group is the analytic hierarchy process. The principle of the analytic hierarchy process is the distribution of the main parts into smaller and more detailed elements and thus the creation of a structured problem. The aim of this paper is to select the optimal form of asset acquisition (loan or leasing) according to clients’ selected criteria using the analytic hierarchy proces (AHP) and a sensitivity analysis to assess the resulting rank of alternatives. Based on the criteria, financial leasing with a high down payment was selected as the best alternative. By means of the sensitivity analysis, it was found that the best alternative is not sensitive to a change in the weights estimated by the AHP.
The efficiency of subsidies for air quality: a case study on the Moravian–Silesian region
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Pechrová, Marie; Kolářová, Alena
In 2012, the Ministry of the Environment and the Moravian–Silesian region released stove subsidies for the replacement of old household heating boilers to improve the air quality in the Moravian–Silesian region. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the efficiency of providing those finances. A comparison is made of the technical and economic parameters of combustion devices for household heating: a) boilers for coal with hand filling, b) boilers for coal with automatic filling and c) boilers for biomass in relation to CO2 and NOx emissions. The best results are provided by the last method. Therefore, it is recommended to extend the subsidies to boilers for biomass combustion, which are not yet supported, in order to expand the positive effect of public support on emission reduction.
Household balance sheets and economic crisis
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Jakubík, Petr
In this paper, the impact of an economic downturn on the household sector is studied. Household budgets can be negatively affected by declines in nominal wages and increases in unemployment. This effect is tested for the small, open, emerging economy using the estimated macro model. As a result of a lack of individual data on household finances, micro data are simulated. It is clearly shown by the conducted analysis that there is a significant additional decline in consumption related to an increase in household default rates and unemployment. It is found that potential household insolvencies have important implications for the financial system as well as for the macroeconomy.
Is total comprehensive income or net income better for the evaluation of companies' financial performance?
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Gazzola, Patrizia; Amelio, Stefano
The aim of the paper is to compare the utility of the net income and the total comprehensive income for the evaluation of goodness in connection with companies’ investments. For the research, we use the data of the consolidated financial statements for 2010, 2011 and 2012 published online by companies listed on the Prime Market of the Czech Republic Stock Exchange. In the last part of the work, we show the results of empirical research on the income statement of the Czech companies, which have adopted IAS/IFRS principles. The results show that the Czech companies’ financial statements have no propensity to separate the income statement section into two statements rather than integrating it into a single one, while the reclassification of the income statements privileges the reclassification by nature. The results show that the total comprehensive income possesses informative content and gives further information for the evaluation of financial performance.
Regional classification: the case of the Visegrad Four
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Poledníková, Eva
Since the biggest enlargement of the European Union in 2004, the EU cohesion policy has made a significant contribution to spreading growth and prosperity across the European territory. Despite this, the cohesion policy is still confronted with persistent economic, social and territorial disparities among countries and regions and weakened economic growth and competitiveness. The aim of the paper is to evaluate regional disparities in the case of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries in the year 2010 and to propose an alternative method of regional classification that could be helpful for the efficient allocation of European funds. In the paper, an analysis of the disparities in the V4 NUTS 2 regions is undertaken on the basis of cluster analysis. The three determined clusters confirm that NUTS 2 regions with capital cities (Praha, Bratislavský kraj, Mazowieckie and Közép-Magyarország) still occupy the dominant positions in comparison with other regions in the V4. Significant disparities between clusters are visible, especially regarding the economic and innovative performance and territorial cohesion.
Fuzzy weights estimation method based on the linguistic expression of criteria relevance
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Borovička, Adam
In this article, the quantified expression of criteria weights in decision-making processes is considered. A decision maker is often able to express his or her preferences only linguistically. The concept of fuzzy numbers, or linguistic variables, is used in order to state these vague preferences. A fuzzy number is considered as one with a triangular membership function, which renders an approximate value of the weight of a particular criterion according to linguistic terms about its importance. To set the strict (crisp) value of weights, the optimization model based on the maximin principle is proposed in two modifications. The proposed approaches are compared with other methods. Finally, the introduced methods are applied to a rather illustrative but real case of investment decision making in the capital market. The main results are discussed.
Optimal portfolio performance with exchange-traded funds
(Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2014) Petronio, Filomena; Lando, Tommaso; Biglova, Almira; Ortobelli, Sergio
In this paper, the portfolio selection problem in exchange-traded fund (hereafter ETF) markets is considered. Since the ETFs track some market indexes with lower costs than the indexes, their development and popularity is grown enormously in the last decade. Moreover, ETF characteristics also present several advantages for the investors that we briefly examine for the U.S. and European markets of ETFs. In particular, we first introduce a new performance measure consistent with the optimal choices of non-satiable risk-averse investors and then we discuss the optimization of a few performance measures on the U.S. and European ETF markets. Finally, we propose an empirical comparison among the ex-post wealth obtained by optimizing the new performance measure, the Sharpe ratio and the Rachev ratio.

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