Ekonomika

Abstract. The evaluation criteria to measure the efficiency of a state’s economic policy in terms of integration processes in the European Union were determined in the Europe 2020 Strategy endorsed by the European Council in June 2010. According to the Strategy, the European Union has committed to seek progress in the fields of employment, investment in R&D, climate change and energy, education, and poverty reduction. With a view to assessing the economic impact of the above commitments by the European Union vis-a-vis small European Union countries, this article provides an evaluation of the three objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy – employment, education, and investment in R&D – and their impact on the economic growth in smaller countries of the European Union.
This article concludes that many of the smaller European Union countries choose not to be ambitious enough in their national objectives of employment, education, and investment in R&D areas under the Europe 2020 Strategy and, during the 2011–2020 period, they show on average a 4.8% lower annual GDP growth than it could potentially be, i.e. they abandon far-reaching ambitious targets.
Key words: economic policy, small European Union countries, Europe 2020 Strategy, employment, education, R&D

Evaluation of the efficiency of economic policy under the Europe-2020 strategy in small European Union countries  919.59 KB

Jau parsisiuntė: 39

Abstract. The European Central Bank was forced to start using non-standard measures in order to manage the situation determined by the global financial and sovereign debt crisis, namely to sort out liquidity problems and expand credit supply. The European Central Bank is criticized for applying non-standard tools because of increase in inflation risk. However, the analysis shows that the inflation could be managed by the absorption of liquidity surplus. However, there is a negative side of using non-standard measures, such as a significant increase in the credit risk, which arises due to having government bonds in the balance sheet of the European Central Bank. In addition, this indicates that the European Central Bank indirectly finances governments.
Key words: monetary policy, inflation, sovereign debt crisis, credit risk, quantitative easing

The monetary policy of the European Central Bank in the period of sovereign debt crisis  1.04 MB

Jau parsisiuntė: 44

Abstract. The article presents an analysis of the production and trade structure in three Baltic countries. Both exports and imports were emphasized, pointing out the importance of regional shifts and specialization patterns. The research was performed using the input–output model to determine the relative importance of respective production changes over time and the key differences among the Baltic countries. The paper also analyses the backward and forward inter-industry linkages of manufacturing and service industries. The results have indicated that during the period under analysis the share of sectors creating a lower value added has decreased, and a deeper economic integration was observed in the majority of industrial sectors of the Baltic countries with manifesting stronger forward linkages.
Key words: inter-industry linkages, economic structure, the Baltic countries

The development of economic structure and inter-industry linkages in the Baltic countries  1.21 MB

Jau parsisiuntė: 43

Abstract. This paper aims to investigate the effects of tax policy on macroeconomic variables in the context of tax competition issues. Incentives to invest in a country are determined by a prospective rate of return, which is partially determined by the level of capital taxation. However, high labour mobility, which is a particular characteristic of the Lithuanian economy, raises the hypothesis that the analysis of the negative aspects of tax competition is important not only for capital taxes, but also for labour taxation.
Key words: tax competition, SVAR model, capital tax, labour taxes, foreign direct investment
JEL classification: E62, H25, F21.

Aspects of international tax competition: Lithuanian empirical evidence based on SVAR approach  1.28 MB

Jau parsisiuntė: 52

Abstract. The impact of immigration on the labour market has become a very important subject of public and political debates in recent years. The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of immigration on the labour market of the United Kingdom in 1991–2010. Using a system of equations for immigration, unemployment, wage and gross domestic product, the structural vector error correction model and linear regression models were developed. The application of the structural vector error correction model has shown that immigration has a negative impact on the country’s labour market in the short run as it reduces real wages and increases unemployment. The linear regression models have indicated that immigration, ceteris paribus, negatively influences
unemployment and real wages in the long run.
Key words: immigration, labour market, impact, short run, long run

The impact of population immigration on the labour market of the United Kingdom  942.49 KB

Jau parsisiuntė: 54

Abstract. Currently, a more significant added value is created by intellectual rather than physical capital; yet, according to the current standards of accounting, only a minor segment of intellectual capital is presented in financial accounts of enterprises as it usually does not satisfy one of the criteria of property recognition in financial accounting, namely reliable valuation. As a result, there is an increasing demand for novel methods of valuation, enabling enterprises to establish reliably the value of intellectual capital or its specific segments of a given enterprise. A number of scholars have dealt with the methods of intellectual capital valuation. However, their works analyze and classify different methods of intellectual capital valuation, and different criteria of classification are employed; hence, there is no universally accepted opinion on the issue. That is why the aim of this research was to generalize a scheme of methods of intellectual capital valuation. The main methods applied in the present study are the synthesis and generalization of academic writings, including content analysis. The results of the research and its conclusions are based on the analysis of academic investigations conducted by various authors and the resulting publications. Results. The article generalizes the methods of intellectual capital valuation, suggested by a number of scholars, provides comparisons, reveals the multiplicity of the methods, and highlights the unlimited research of the academic field. Besides, the main classifications of methods of intellectual capital valuation are provided, and the applied criteria are defined. Conclusions. It was established that more than sixty different methods for the valuation of the intellectual capital of an enterprise are available. The results of the research show that these methods are classified according to the four following features. Correspondingly, a classification scheme of intellectual capital valuation methods has been developed. It has been established that most methods of intellectual capital valuation are based on scorecard, they assess specific components; of intellectual capital and in the process of valuation do not employ monetary units of measurement. Tis reveals a lack of the studies that focus on the financial aspect of intellectual capital valuation methods.
Key words: intellectual capital, valuation, valuation methods, classification of methods

Intellectual capital valuation: methods and their classification  1005.41 KB

Jau parsisiuntė: 59

Abstract. The importance of studies on work-related values and attitudes is obvious as values are ascribed a central role in determining the fit between individuals and the employment organization. Responding to the importance of the issue, the paper emphasizes the meaning of the individual and organizational values’ fit for the organization, its possibility to become part of strategic planning and a goal for every manager in charge. The aim of the article is to explore the theoretical concepts on values’ fit and to compare it with the empirical research findings. The research question is how the individual and organizational values’ fit is related with the job satisfaction and performance of the employees. Adapted methods of the survey of job satisfaction measuring
nine different facet scales, were used, performance results were obtained from the organization, and two different variables related to quality and sales were measured. The research was conducted in the Lithuanian Telecommunication company. The findings of the research emphasize that job satisfaction has significant correlations with individual and organizational values’ fit. Employees whose job satisfaction was higher had higher fit scores. The performance of employees had no significant correlation with job satisfaction scales.
Key words: individual values, organizational values, values fit, job satisfaction, performance

A fit between individual and organizational values and its implications for employees’ job satisfaction and performance  1.1 MB

Jau parsisiuntė: 48

Abstract. Objective. This empirical research was made to test a weak-form market efficiency of the stock market index in Ukraine as compared with other countries’ stock indexes. Data. Daily data were investigated for the period from August 2008 to October 2011. Methods. We applied different statistical tests to verify the hypothesis that the Ukrainian stock market follows a random walk. Main results. The main research findings are: the daily returns are not normally distributed; I.I.D. tests and the Kendall test support the random walk hypothesis. Test results on autocorrelation and variance stability were ambiguous. The reported results may be considered as the first approach to the further research on the efficiency of the Ukrainian securities markets.
Key words: Ukraine, stock market, efficiency, test

Testing the weak-form efficiency hypothesis in the Ukrainian stock market versus those of the USA, Russia, and Poland  1.2 MB

Jau parsisiuntė: 38

Abstract. The purpose of the paper is to present the development of the municipal bond market in Poland between 1989 and 2012, a characteristic of municipal bonds and their types, issued in this period. The empirical research conducted by the author provides some main financial indicators that determine the development of this market and its role for local governments in Poland. Moreover, there are analysed the types of investors on this market, organizers of the placements or the meaning of this market against the background of the municipal bond markets in the European Union (EU) countries. The study is mainly based on the miscellaneous reports and statistics of the National Bank of Poland, Ministry of Finance, Central Statistical Office of Poland, Warsaw Stock Exchange or rating agency Fitch Polska. An important source of information was also the research conducted by the author, which concerned the perspective of servicing the local governments by commercial banks and the associated risk. As a consequence, the author indicates that the value of municipal bonds issued in Poland is still relatively low in comparison with its gross domestic product and the leading EU countries. Therefore, there are possibilities of the further growth of this market in Poland. First and foremost, municipal bonds are positively perceived as an investment instrument by the investors, i.e. mainly commercial banks. Besides, these securities have a small share in the investment portfolio of pension funds and investment funds. However, one of the main obstacles of the further development of the municipal bond market in Poland is its relatively low liquidity.
Key words: municipal bond market, municipal bonds, local governments

Development of the municipal bond market in Poland after 1989  1.52 MB

Jau parsisiuntė: 50

Abstract. This paper deals with the examination of the rationale for insurance service purchase decision making with a focus on Lithuania and its possible implications for both Lithuania and other developing insurance markets. This work proposes a model that reflects the several stages of the insurance service purchase decision making process, including the time dimension. This model is constructed on the basis of three hypotheses; these hypotheses are tested based on data collected by means of an insurance expert survey. The results confirm the existence of two stages of insurance service purchase decision making, where one’s intellect and income determine the inclination towards insurance and where the price and quality of an insurance service determine its purchase decision. The research reveals a relatively equivalent impact of both consumers’ intellect and income on their inclination towards insurance in general; however, it strongly indicates the consumers’ strong focus on the price of the service as opposed to its quality when deciding to purchase an insurance service. The research also discloses the higher complexity of the decision making process when purchasing life insurance services as compared to non-life insurance services.
Key words: insurance consumer behaviour rationale, insurance service purchase inclination and decision stages, intellect vs. income, price vs. quality, complicated vs. trivial process

. Insurance service purchase decision-making rationale: expert-based evidence from Lithuania  1.43 MB

Jau parsisiuntė: 63