Volume 15 (2015): Issue 1 (March 2015)

In this paper, the models of internal migration flows between regions (NUTS 3) in the Czech Republic in time series from 1991 to 2012 are tested. The paper aims to find out how size, distance and economic variables explain migration flows between Czech regions. Several versions of an extended gravity model were used for testing, where economic factors which are frequently mentioned in literature on migration were used as regressors (i.e. average wage, registered unemployment rate, job vacancies and job vacancies per applicant). Internal migration flow is the dependent variable. In comparison to the pure gravity model, the extending of models with the economic variables improves the results of the models only slightly. The results show that the highest explanatory value of migration is given by models with rates of the variables tested.

This paper examines the determinants of the intra-EU direct investment (IDI) into the New Member States (NMS) using a panel dataset of bilateral capital flows for the period 1993-2013. It is found out by using a simple gravity model that EU membership is the most important determinant. Unlike previous studies including non-EU countries, the distance is insignificant, which is caused by proximity of these countries to one another. A separate analysis focused on subgroups of accession countries gives some evidence that even when size of their economy, distance, institutional quality and EU accession are taken into account, Central European countries receive more IDI than the Baltic and the Balkan states. On the contrary to that, the analysis restricted to the Balkan countries which have joined the EU shows the inexistence of a negative Balkans effect in attracting foreign investment. This finding is relevant because previous studies demonstrate a persistent negative Balkans effect for non-EU Balkan countries and suggests a crucial impact of the EU accession in determining the intra-EU capital flows.

As far as sustainable transport development is concerned, transfer of cargo from road transport to short sea shipping, which, according to the common opinion, generates lower external costs, is one of the objectives of the European Union policy. However, the latest research results indicate that some Ro-Ro vessels and ferries generate higher external costs than road transport. In light of this, benefits resulting from transferring the cargo from road to sea seem to be questionable. The main aim of the article is answering the question whether, and if so, how ferry and Ro-Ro shipping contributes to development of sustainable transport? In order to answer this question, an analysis of ferry and Ro-Ro shipping lines functioning in European transport system has been conducted.

The article presents research results based on an analysis of approx. 900 ferry and Ro-Ro shipping lines considering the length and time of voyage compared to alternative road transport. Usually, the course of sea shipping route does not cover the route of the road transport, and therefore the lengths of both routes frequently considerably differ, which significantly affects the total external costs generated by them. On the basis of the analysis, the shipping lines have been classified according to the criterion of their substitutability to road transport and their role in sustainable transport development.

The goal of this paper is to present basic alternative assessments of the division of transport work (or also “modal split”) of main transport modes. For this, an example of selected long-distance connections between centres in Czechia, including an identification of major underlying factors, shall be exploited. The paper examines the competitiveness of rail transport in its relation to bus and individual automobile transport, and relations with a potential of rail transport are primarily selected. A logit model is applied within the selected set of relations. It is entered in particular by indicators of time (time of a ride, frequency of public transport lines) and finances (actual transport costs) through a financial expression of generalised costs. The purpose of the paper is to verify the selected procedure on the relations transport modes of which are similar, and to highlight the alternatives of a comprehensive assessment of the modal split of main transport modes in Czechia. In the conclusion, the gained results are used to outline further alternative prospects of the topic under observation.

The article assesses well-being in the Czech Republic compared to other Visegrad countries (Slovakia, Hungary, Poland) and neighbouring Germany and Austria. By employing various approaches designed by several international organisations it takes an aggregate perspective to assess both the current well-being and its sustainability into the future. All employed indicators that relate to current well-being evaluate the well-being in the Czech Republic as moderate among the OECD countries. The results indicate that the position in well-being rankings improves with the growing number of dimensions or subjective factors included in the well-being measure, mainly due to the reduction in relative importance of income dimension and higher emphasis on the multidimensionality and complexity of well-being. In the case of sustainability, large differences can be identified in evaluation stemming from Happy Planet Index and Sustainable Society Index perspective. Although both of them agree on unfavourable situation as regards environmental sustainability in the Czech Republic, different accent on economic area alters the final result substantially. The analysis shows that for any well-being assessment, the choice of indicators is crucial and a large portion of caution is necessary when interpreting these.

This paper investigates the differences between parameters estimated using real-time and those estimated with revised data. The models used are New Keynesian DSGE models of the Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Swiss, and Swedish small open economies in interaction with the euro area. The paper also offers an analysis of data revisions of GDP growth and inflation and trend revisions of interest rates.

Data revisions are found to be unbiased and not autocorrelated in all countries. Inflation is usually measured more accurately in real-time than GDP growth, but this is not the case in the euro area. The results of the core analysis suggest that there are significant differences between parameter estimates using real-time data and those estimated using revised data. The model parameters that are most prone to significant differences between real-time and revised estimations are habit in consumption and persistence of domestic supply, of demand, and of world-wide technology shocks. The impulse response analysis suggests that the model behavior based on real-time and revised data is different.