Electronic Library of Scientific Literature



EKONOMICKÝ ÈASOPIS



Volume 45 / No. 2 / 1997



ECONOMIC GROWTH OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC IN THE INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

Ivan OKÁLI

In the first part the efficiency of the Slovak economy (measured as the GNP per one inhabitant) is compared with the economic efficiency in the EU countries, and on the basis of model calculations the convergence of the SR economy to the developed market economies is taken into consideration. The opinion exists that in the course of the life of one generation (20-25 years) this task could be solved at the permanent provision of 5-6% tempo of growth on the basis of the extensive utilisation of foreign capital resources.
In the second part, on the basis of the comparative analysis, in more than 30 countries of Europe, Asia, and America, from the beginning of 80-ties up to the half of 90-ties, the investment presumptions of the tempo of the economic growth are detected which would be sufficient for the solution of the expected convergence task. It is found out that the solution of this task has its historical precedence, but it is exceptionally difficult. Not only from the viewpoint of big extend of necessary savings, but also because of the fact, that to reach required rate of investment and maintenance of the required level of the efficiency of capital deposits depends on the wide spectrum of factors both, the economic and non-economic character.


STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF THE EXTERNAL ECONOMIC BALANCE OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Herta GABRIELOVÁ

The paper is focused on the analysis of the goods structure of the foreign trade of the SR from several aspects. Its interest, above all, was to identify those sides of the foreign-trade exchange which create basis for the establishment of non-balanced situations in the trade balance of the SR.
The most complicated problem of the Slovak economy - with the immediate influence on the development of the external economic balance - is in the low rate of the processing of exported industrial products. According to the preliminary calculations this reaches only 40% of the average processing rate of imported industrial products. To create conditions for the inevitable qualitative changes in the structure of the SR export requires exceptionally important economic problem. It can be solved only at the significant involvement of external resources (financial, technical, and technological ones) into the solution of problems connected with the total restructuring of the Slovak economy.


SOME ASPECTS OF THE INFLUX OF DIRECT FOREIGN INVESTMENTS TO SLOVAKIA IN INTERNAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

Jozef ŠESTÁK

Up to the half of 80-ties the increase of direct world investment flow is more significant in its total volume as speedy development of direct foreign investment (DFI) in 50-ties and 60-ties. Global investment flows recorded an enormous increase, especially, in the second half of 80-ties in the total volume of accepted and invested capital.
In countries of Central and Eastern Europe the liberalisation of foreign investment started to be fully manifested after 1989. After the first diffident steps in 1989-1990 the influx of DFI started to be more dynamic in 1991-1995. The presented trend also continued in the second half of 90-ties, even though the change of interest in individual territories was observed in the region. In spite of certain growth, the DFI volume for the countries of Eastern and Central Europe in 1992 represented only 3% of the global volume of DFI flows.
Slovakia, in spite of the short existence in the form of the independent international-legal entity, reached good results in economic area, and even in many directions the economic development was, basically, more favourable than it was generally expected. In the group of the transforming countries the Slovakia reached forefront position by its results. The important factor for the future position of Slovakia in the group of the most developed countries of the world (if not the most important one) is to continue in the process of the law approximation to the EU, and the gradual transition to legislative standards for regulation of capital flows which were accepted by the OECD countries. The opinion outlasts among investors that our territory is risky one to certain extent. It is the new state the negative image of which was created already before its establishment. Recently, the number of western politicians was extended who start to respect the positive development tendencies, and to apply this knowledge in political assessment of the SR. It is important to realise how important task plays the system of recommendations and precedents in creation of the favourable image.
In order to improve the position of Slovakia in view of foreign investors, it is necessary to prepare and to realise more offensive marketing policy abroad which would present the complex view of the SR as an integral part of the European economic space and the prospective country with good industrial potential.


PROBLEMS OF EXTERNAL ECONOMIC BALANCE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC, POLAND AND HUNGARY

Ignác RENDEK

Roughly after three years from the start of the transformation each of analysed countries started to interfere with severe deficits in the common account of the balance-of-payment, especially, the trade balance. The paper analyses partial reasons of these deficits (recession in the West, revival of transit economics, non-consolidated status of the enterprise sector, etc.) and discusses about responses of the economic policy to it.
The author pays special attention to the extensive internal non-balance in Hungary, its relation to the external non-balance and characterises anti-crisis program of Hungarian Government. As far as capital account is concerned, the article analyses problems of the imbalance induced by big influx of foreign capital to the Czech Republic and to Poland and discusses measures of economic-political bodies to master them.


PROBLEMS OF PUBLIC EXPENSES IN THE ECONOMICS OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Zdeno JAURA

No uniform definition of public expenses exists in professional literature. In spite of that the author indicates a possible limitation of public expenses. The relation is defined between public relations and the public sector. The public sector cannot be unconditionally unified with expenses for public sector. In spite of that the very narrow relation exists between the extent of the public sector and the public expenses. Big growth of public expenses in previous two up to three decades caused the growth of the public sector. The comparisons were presented in several countries where, comparatively, big differences appeared, while the order of countries with certain share of public expenses kept relative stability. This relative stability confirms the experience that, from the political viewpoint, radical reforms are non-acceptable for majority of countries, because they would require significant changes of redistribution measures.
It is said that so called Wagner Law on continuously growing share of public expenses was confirmed in the case of long period - even when it was in the decreasing share - and its validity was nearly interrupted in last years. It results from that the growth of public expenses and the whole public sector does not have such unambiguous even fatal consequences (in relation to continuous "vigorousness" of the public sector and public expenses). Vice versa. It is shown that there is an attempt to apply a new approach, which should be mainly qualitative approach to the public sector.
In the economy of Slovakia on one hand there is an effort to "clean", or to restrict the public sector, but on the other hand this process has many opponents. The process of the public sector "cleaning" has its own boundaries. Certain part of the property remains in the public sector. There is so called clean non-market property in the framework of which the problems of externals are solved. Also in the inner side of this sphere the rationalisation measures are not negligible in the use of finances.
In the conclusion the author analyses the resources of the financing of the public expenses in the economy of Slovakia. The resources for the public expense funding show, in their breaking down to the national budget and the self-government budgets, that the expenses for the public administration were provided in Slovakia in last years, prevailingly, through the state administration with the minimum space for the self-government. In average in 1991-1995, 90% of expenses were funded through the state administration and only 10% through the self-governments. Also the total tendency is directed to the high centralisation of expenses for the public administration. It is a little bit curious that it runs on conditions where, practically, all political forces (parties) verbally support the decentralisation process in direction to the self-government.