Volume 18 (2018): Issue 4 (December 2018)

The purpose of the present paper is to find whether the spatial distribution of enterprise support policy funds meet the spatial objectives stated in Czech strategic documents related to enterprise support policy. Are more funds allocated in lagging regions, and does enterprise support policy contribute more to the convergence objective, or are more funds allocated in core regions, and does enterprise support policy contribute more to the competitiveness objective? These questions are answered by evaluating the Structural (and Cohesion) Fund (SF) expenditures that were allocated on operations categorised as part of enterprise support policy (2007-2013). The dependent variable relates to 206 regions, and SF expenditures are calculated for every inhabitant of a region. Moreover, two types of SF operation are distinguished: (a) innovationoriented operations; and (b) other enterprise support operations. Three explanatory variables are defined using Principal Components Analysis (PCA), and these components are understood as: (1) the social disadvantage of regions; (2) the innovation environment of regions; and (3) the quality of regional entrepreneurial environments. The associations between the dependent and explanatory variables are subsequently evaluated by methods of correlation and regression analysis. The findings provide some evidence for both the convergence and competitiveness objectives. Nevertheless, this evidence is rather limited due to a low spatial concentration of SF allocation, and the compensatory effect between the two thematic types of SF operations. Hence, while the quality of their innovation environment has a positive influence on regional SF allocation regardless of the thematic focus of SF operations, socially disadvantaged regions received more funds for SF operations which are not innovation-oriented. The capacity of potential beneficiaries to prepare and submit many project proposals for SF co-financing is the main reason for high or low SF allocation.

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between economic output, labour and capital in the Visegrád Four, Austria and Germany. The main objective is to determine the type of technological progress in these countries over time, specifically in the period 1995-2015. The Sato production functions (a special case of the linearly homogeneous production function) for all the aforementioned countries are estimated using linear and nonlinear techniques. In addition to the original Sato production function, we propose modifying it in using a time variable, which allows us to analyse the development of productivity over time. Based on the NLS estimates of this modification, we create isoquant maps and calculate the value of the marginal rate of technical substitution of labour for capital to identify the nature of technological progress typical for each country. We also compare the properties of both the OLS and NLS estimates. The results are quite specific to individual countries, but there is some room for generalization.

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the effects of loose monetary policy on corporate investment of manufacturing firms in the Czech Republic during the period between 2006 and 2015. The main focus of the paper is on the effect of low interest rates on investment activity of Czech firms; additionally, the effects of interactions between interest rate and other firm-specific variables are investigated. The results indicate that corporate investment is positively associated with firm size, investment opportunities, and long term debt. Also, a negative effect of the cash position is found. Further, the findings show that monetary policy is a significant determinant of firm investment activity: when the monetary policy is loose, investment is positively affected. Furthermore, differences in the determinants of investment between highly and low leveraged firms were revealed.

The Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of personal data (GDPR) was enacted in 2016 and applies from 25^thMay 2018 in the entire EU. The GDPR is a product of an ambitious reform and represents a direct penetration of the EU law into the legal systems of the EU member states. The EU works on the enhancement of awareness about the GDPR and points out its bright side. However, the GDPR has its dark side as well, which will inevitably have a negative impact. Hence, the goal of this paper is twofold - (i) to scientifically identify, forecast, and analyze selected problematic aspects of the GDPR and its implementation, in particular for Czech municipalities, and (ii) to propose recommendations about how to reduce, or even avoid, their negative impacts. These theoretic analyses are projected to a Czech case study focusing on municipalities, which offers fresh primary data and allows a further refining of the proposed recommendations. An integral part of the performed analyses is also a theoretic forecast of expenses linked to the GDPR, which municipalities will have to include in their mandatory expenses and mid-term prognostic expectations regarding the impact on the budgets of these municipalities from Central Bohemia. The GDPR, like Charon, is at the crossing, the capacity and knowledge regarding its application is critical for operating in the EU in 2018. It is time both to admit that the GDPR has its dark side and to present real and practical recommendations about how to mitigate it.

The present paper deals with the interest and tax burden of corporations in the Czech industrial and banking sector as well as with the identification of the differences between the two sectors, including the evaluation of their developmental trends in the period after the economic and financial crisis of 2008. The interest and tax burden on business entities is determined by negative cash flows that reduce the value of their assets and equity. The basis of the research is the analysis of both components of the financial burden on corporations in these sectors over the past eight years and the identification of factors influencing their capital structure and performance. According to DuPont's equation, the burden is expressed by interest and the tax reduction of corporation's earnings before interest and taxes. The amount of the financial burden depends on the macroeconomic environment where the corporations operate. Our analysis identified an asynchronous dependence between the real payments and changes in the interest and tax rates. The reduction of both rates has had a positive effect on the performance of Czech corporations and increased their capital resources. They became more attractive to foreign investors, and the return on invested capital improved. Based on the results of the analysis, we evaluated the differences in the performance of the average corporation in the banking and industrial sectors.