Suchergebnisse

Background: Alcohol is a risk factor with serious consequences for society and individuals. This study aims to present methods and approaches that might be used to estimate the costs related to excessive alcohol consumption. It emphasizes the need for general methods and approaches that are easily applicable, because the level of digitalization and data availability vary across regions. The lack of data makes many methods inapplicable and useless. The ease of applicability will help to make cost-of-illness studies and their results comparable globally. Methods: This study is based on data from the Czech Republic in 2017. Drinking alcohol results in costs of healthcare, social care, law enforcement, and administrative costs of public authorities. To quantify the cost of drinking in the Czech Republic, the top-down approach, bottom-up approach, human capital approach and attributable fractions were used. Results: In 2017, the cost related to alcohol was estimated at 0.66% of the national GDP. Lost productivity represented 54.45% of total cost related to alcohol. All cost related to alcohol is considered to be avoidable. Conclusions: The methods and approaches applied to estimate the cost of disease or any other health issue should be generalized regarding the availability of data and specifics of provided services to people who are addicted or have any kind of disability. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. ; Slovak Research and Development AgencySlovak Research and Development Agency [APVV-17-0360]; Government Council for Drug Policy Coordination of the Czech Republic [A-86-19]; Internal Grant Agency of FaME Tomas Bata University in Zlin: RVO/2020: "Economic quantification of marketing processes that focus on value increase for a patient in a process of system creation to measure and control efficiency in health facilities in the

At present, the health systems of many countries face complex challenges even if their priority objectives remain the same - to provide sustainable health systems at the current and the prognostic demographic changes and requirements in a health system. The quality and the efficiency of healthcare delivery and their mutual conformity have been brought to public attention. Similarly, the quality and the efficiency of an entire process depends on the instrumentation and its procurement that represents a significant economic and procedural issue in the healthcare systems for a long time. Many reports of the public procurement processes and research studies declare this fact. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the public procurement efficiency in the health system by means of the valuation approach, or savings' estimates that are achieved by the public procurement. The savings were defined as a percentage difference between the estimated and the final contract price. The secondary objective is to examine an influence of selected variables on a creation of savings in the public procurement process by means of a regression analysis. The researched variables are as follows: time, method, procurement, NUTS level of procurement, Common Procurement Vocabulary Code, number of offers. The analysis results showed interesting findings. The number of offers has a significantly positive impact on the savings. It means that if the number of offers increases by one unit, the savings will increase by 15.6%. Also, time variable (year) has a positive impact on the savings. Consequently, it may be assumed that the public procurement process is improving from a time perspective. It may be partially caused by the fact that a new public procurement legislative has been valid since 2015. The NUTS level has also an impact on the savings in relation to the public procurement. The public procurements which took place at the level of a state were more beneficial as the public procurements at the regional level. Also, the procurement method was statistically significant parameter of a regression analysis. The competition actions together with a negotiation process created higher savings in comparison to tenders. In case of the CPV codes, the most significant savings were achieved in the group of 'various medicinal products'. The study's results provide a valuable knowledge for the creators of policies and a realization of the national strategic plans within the health system. Also, these results support a creation of national and international benchmarks in this area and a networking of international partnerships in the area of a public procurement that focus on a development of methodologies and comparative platforms creation. ; Internal Grant Agency of FaME Tomas Bata University in Zlin

Environmental health is among the priority areas of public health, and the current professional communities are intensively engaged with it. The main objective of the study is to quantify regional disparities of preventable mortality in Slovakia and to study the extent of the influence of selected environmental factors on changes in the development of its values. A cross-sectional linear regression model is used to quantify effects of environmental factors on the preventable mortality. Also, cluster analysis is used to identify regions with similar levels of air pollution. Environmental factors were selected based on the study of the World Health Organization. From the point of view of the influence of environmental factors on preventable mortality in the case of men, statistically significant connection to sewerage, SO2 production, and production of particulate matter was demonstrated. In the case of women, equally important factors showed connection to sewerage and SO2. The results of this study point to significant regional disparities in preventable mortality and a different degree of impact of environmental factors. Preventable mortality is above the Slovak average in most of the least-developed districts. Even in this group, there are significant differences. ; ATTRACTIVE DANUBE "Improving Capacities for Enhancing Territorial Attractiveness of the Danube Region" [DTP40]; European Union Funds (ERDF, IPA)

The aim of the study is to evaluate the potential of Czech companies in overcoming the pandemic crisis caused by Covid-19 on the basis of the selected economic parameters. To achieve this aim, development of Czech companies in the period of 2004-2018 has been analysed, which includes the periods before and during the financial crisis and the period of Czech economy growth. A thorough analysis of this period allows us to create an evaluation platform and formulate the assumptions as to what extent Czech companies are able to cope with another crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The research sample consists of 25,501 financially stable Czech companies of various sizes. 184,548 pieces of financial data from these companies are analysed using standard statistical methods, namely Kruskal–Wallis test. The results of the analyses show that in the case of Czech companies, the hypothesis of a significant impact of the financial crisis and the subsequent long recovery period is not confirmed. Czech companies show a relatively high resilience to the effects of the financial crisis of 2008 and the ability to overcome this crisis. Government measures to support the economy will play an important role in crisis management processes, enabling companies to survive in the worst stages of their operation and thus bridge the period of revenue losses and other negatives associated with the crisis. Based on the evaluation of the post-crisis development, we can state that Czech companies with appropriate government support will be able to overcome the negative consequences of the pandemic crisis caused by Covid-19. The results of the study have several implications for policy-making and are also beneficial for the development of a methodological platform and the creation of national and international benchmarking indicators. © Foundation of International Studies, 2021 and CSR, 2021.

In the current era of globalization, a clean environment remains a crucial factor for the health of the population. Thus, improving air quality is a major focus of environmental policies, as it affects all aspects of nature, including humans. For these reasons, it is appropriate to take into account the health risks posed by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions released into the atmosphere. With regard to global GHG emissions, there are concerns about the loss of protection of the ozone layer and it is very likely that climate change can be expected, which multiplies the environmental threat and has potentially serious global consequences. In this regard, it is important to pay increased attention to emissions that enter the atmosphere, which include countless toxic substances. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between selected GHG emissions and the health of the European Union (EU) population represented by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). This aim was achieved using several analytical procedures (descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, cluster analysis, and panel regression analysis), which included five environmental variables (carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) in CO2 equivalent, nitrous oxide (N2O) in CO2 equivalent, hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) in CO2 equivalent, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) in CO2 equivalent) and one health variable (DALYs). An emphasis was placed on the use of quantitative methods. The results showed that CO2 emissions have a dominant position among selected GHG emissions. The revealed positive link between CO2 and DALYs indicated that a decrease in CO2 may be associated with a decrease in DALYs, but it is also true that this cannot be done without reducing emissions of other combustion products. In terms of CO2, the least positive scores were observed in Luxembourg and Estonia. Germany had the lowest score of DALYs, representing the most positive health outcome in the EU. In terms of total GHG emissions, Ireland and Luxembourg were considered to be less positive ...

Both the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) and its embedded technology diffusion exponentially progress and grow in terms of technical change and socioeconomic impact. The aim of this study was the evaluation of research and development efficiency in the public and private sectors in EU countries. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology, within which the slack-based model was applied, was used to achieve this aim. The Malmquist index (MI) was used to calculate changes in research and development efficiency during 2010/2013 and 2014/2017. The results present a decrease in total Research and Development (R&D) productivity in public and private sectors for an average of EU countries (28). However, Spain, Slovenia, and Portugal (in the public sector), and Ireland and Romania (in the private sector) revealed an increase of a total R&D productivity during 2010/2013 and 2014/2017 that was primarily influenced by an increase of technical efficiency (catch-up effect). Similarly, the results confirm the differences in R&D efficiency in private and public sectors in the European countries. The study's results also provide a valuable platform for creators of national strategic and innovative investment and educational plans, and creators of relevant policies and create a platform for national and international benchmarking indicators. © 2020 by the authors. ; Research and Development Agency GA AA [21/2020]; research project VEGA [1/0794/18]

At present, public procurement processes and their efficiency represent one of the key determinants of public finance system. Many countries of the European Union work intensively on reforming public procurement processes. The main aim of public procurement is to create an open competition in order to achieve the most efficient use of public funds. The Slovak hospitals, that have been inefficiently managed in the long run, are the weakest segment of the healthcare system. Also, the public hospitals continue to generate substantial losses even if many reforms had been implemented to increase cost efficiency. However, medical debt consolidation did not help the hospitals to set optimal functioning of the economic processes in order to improve their management permanently. The primary aim of the study is to examine an impact of selected determinants on an efficiency of public procurement processes in the healthcare system of the Slovak Republic during the 2014 – 2017. The data were obtained from the registers of the Public Procurement Office of the Slovak Republic. The multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the following findings: in case of zero, or positive savings, the number of offers, year of public procurement, type of public procurement procedure, NUTS level of procurement and participation of a subcontractor in procurement process are significant categorical variables. The study results enable a creation of multi-dimensional analyses and support models in order to make effective public procurement processes in the healthcare system. Similarly, these results enable to create comparative benchmarking analyses, and may lead to a creation of new agencies and institutions. © 2020, Bucharest University of Economic Studies Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Both the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) and its embedded technology diffusion exponentially progress and grow in terms of technical change and socioeconomic impact. The aim of this study was the evaluation of research and development efficiency in the public and private sectors in EU countries. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology, within which the slack-based model was applied, was used to achieve this aim. The Malmquist index (MI) was used to calculate changes in research and development efficiency during 2010/2013 and 2014/2017. The results present a decrease in total Research and Development (R&D) productivity in public and private sectors for an average of EU countries (28). However, Spain, Slovenia, and Portugal (in the public sector), and Ireland and Romania (in the private sector) revealed an increase of a total R&D productivity during 2010/2013 and 2014/2017 that was primarily influenced by an increase of technical efficiency (catch-up effect). Similarly, the results confirm the differences in R&D efficiency in private and public sectors in the European countries. The study's results also provide a valuable platform for creators of national strategic and innovative investment and educational plans, and creators of relevant policies and create a platform for national and international benchmarking indicators. ; Web of Science ; 12 ; 17 ; art. no. 7050

The political-economic cycle can be caused as the consequence of the wrong political decisions, made with the aim of re-election and maintaining the political power. These decisions influence the macroeconomic indicators of the country and their presence is problematic in the advanced economies. The main objective of this study is to verify the existence of the political-economic cycle model in the case of Greece and to identify the type of this cycle. The basement is given by the approach of Alesina and Roubini (1992), which observes the relationship between the political dummy variables and the selected macroeconomic variables such as gross domestic product, unemployment rate and inflation rate. The eight linear regression models are developed in the R software environment, while the three of them are opportunistic and the five are ideological. These models are identified as statistically significant and according to the methodology, tested for the presence of serial correlation, heteroscedasticity and residual normality. As the models do not confirm the presence of an opportunistic or ideological political-economic cycle, according to the data, the influence of the political parties on changes in the macroeconomic variables before the election is not proved for the case of Greece.

The political-economic cycle can be caused as the consequence of the wrong political decisions, made with the aim of re-election and maintaining the political power. These decisions influence the macroeconomic indicators of the country and their presence is problematic in the advanced economies. The main objective of this study is to verify the existence of the political-economic cycle model in the case of Greece and to identify the type of this cycle. The basement is given by the approach of Alesina and Roubini (1992), which observes the relationship between the political dummy variables and the selected macroeconomic variables such as gross domestic product, unemployment rate and inflation rate. The eight linear regression models are developed in the R software environment, while the three of them are opportunistic and the five are ideological. These models are identified as statistically significant and according to the methodology, tested for the presence of serial correlation, heteroscedasticity and residual normality. As the models do not confirm the presence of an opportunistic or ideological political-economic cycle, according to the data, the influence of the political parties on changes in the macroeconomic variables before the election is not proved for the case of Greece.

The aim of the contribution was to identify presence and contagion threat of twin defi cits, i.e. simultaneous budget and current account defi cit in the EU countries. Using correlations and Granger causality testing we recorded existence of twin defi cits in most of EU countries. In several countries we confi rmed traditional causality that budget defi cit implies current account defi cit. In several other countries the opposite, known as current account targeting, was true. In two counties (Spain and Hungary) bi-causality was detected. We consider existence of bi-causality as the most complicated situation in practice. Then it is a real vicious cycle. Policy makers must target both imbalances at the same time, to solve this problem, which can be very diffi cult. Persistent macroeconomic problems in these two countries confi rm our assumption.Our paper extends existing literature by determination of two thresholds for public debt-to-GDP which modify occurrence and risk of twin defi cits in the EU countries. These break points were identifi ed via threshold panel data model. Twin defi cits problems are not probable for countries with public debt-to-GDP lower than 30.668%. However, risk of this phenomenon is much higher if public debt is from 30.688% to 98.126%. Countries with public debt over 98.126% suffer from high and persistent twin imbalances. Therefore we suggest reconsideration of Maastricht criterion on public debt and its reduction to 30%. Finally we observe contagion effect of twin defi cits throughout EU countries regardless their economic performance or the euro area membership which is indirectly triggered also in the case of non-euro area members.

The purpose of the article is to evaluate the efficiency of local governments of EU countries. The subject of research is the view on local governments in the European dimension, while emphasising the management system and the efficiency of local governments. The article aims to assess the efficiency of allocated expenditures of local governments in EU countries from the perspectives of government effectiveness and the perception of corruption, and to assess changes of efficiency between the periods 2012/2015 and 2015/2018. To evaluate the efficiency of local governments, Data Envelopment Analysis was applied on the sample of the 27 EU countries in the years 2012, 2015, 2018. On average, the EU countries achieve higher score of efficiency in the local governments in terms of the government effectiveness (Model 1) when comparing the efficiency score from the point of the perception of corruption (Model 2). In connection to the aim, two research questions have been verified. The results show, based on the Malmquist index, that in the majority of the EU countries in 2012/2015, there prevailed a growth of the total productivity in the local governments (in relation to the government effectiveness and the perception of corruption), which was especially impacted by a growth of the technical efficiency (Model 1), and innovation activities and management change (Model 2). The achieved findings provide valuable information for the creators of the local public policies in the individual countries. ; Web of Science ; 18 ; 1 ; 137 ; 127

The efficiency of the public finance system is conditioned also by the efficiency of public procurement processes. The Slovak healthcare system has been under pressure to increase long-term efficiency. With respect to achieve the efficiency in healthcare system, the efficient public procurement is necessary condition. It is important to examine the factors influencing the public procurement system in the health sector as well as the causal relationships that would provide a valuable platform for the evaluation mechanisms aimed at the effectiveness of the planned purchases. The healthcare sector is specific because it is difficult to consider the effectiveness of the medical equipment in public procurement as well as its long-term effects, the total cost of the treatment and the individual requirements of the patient. The aim of the study is to clarify, whether the use of GPA impact the occurrence of savings within the public procurement process and if application of GPA induces the competition among tenders, thus whether the use of GPA increase number of offers. We use data on public procurement in healthcare sector in Slovak republic in 2019. The focus of analysis is on the Agreement on Government Procurement use by Slovak public procurement bodies and its impact on competition and creation of savings in public procurement process. Our findings suggest that the use of Agreement on Government Procurement induce emergence of savings in public procurement and increases the level of competition. Analysis also indicates that there exists relatively tight correspondence between competition and emergence of savings within public procurement process. It holds that higher the number of offers is, the higher savings are. © 2021, Bucharest University of Economic Studies Publishing House. All rights reserved.