C33 - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models: Panel Data Models; Spatio-temporal ModelsReturn

Of all the post-Communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic is probably the only one that is marked by significant inflows of labour force. The largest group of migrants in the Czech Republic comprises the Ukrainians. In 2009, they made up 21% of all the foreigners legally residing in the country and in the previous years their share was even larger. In 2006 alone, 30 thousand Ukrainians migrated to the Czech Republic and the total share of Ukrainians constituted 46% of all the migrants. According to some members of the general public and politicians, migrants represent a burden to the Czech economy. The most notorious arguments against migration are that immigrants take up the jobs of local workers and that the money made in the Czech Republic ends up elsewhere. This analysis shows that labour migration, in our case Ukrainian labour migration to the Czech Republic, might mean a welfare gain for the Czech economy.

The topic of the relationship between human capital and economic growth has been intensively examined in empirical studies since the 1980s. Although the positive impact of education and human capital on growth has been repeatedly confirmed, there are still doubts about the strength and probable inverse causality of the relationship. The quality of human capital is frequently mentioned in the empirical literature as an important factor which can help to understand and properly determine the link. The quality of human capital is a key focus of this paper. It tests and confirms the hypothesis that the quality is an important factor which significantly influences the intensity of the relationship. The main hypothesis has been tested using the dynamic panel data technique (GMM estimation) on panel data covering 65 countries in 1960-2005. It has been confirmed that the years of schooling have a higher positive impact on economic growth in countries with a higher quality of education.

The paper presents both theoretical and an empirical analysis of factors influencing the prices of non-tradable goods and services in the Czech economy. The analysis discusses the development of the real exchange rate of the Czech koruna and quantifies the size of the real exchange rate appreciation of the Czech currency in the period 1993-2007 as a result of the domestic price development in the tradable and non-tradable sectors. The paper mathematically derives a relationship between the prices of non-tradable goods and services and the real exchange rate based on a traditional aggregate base. It also defines the basic determinants of the prices of non-tradable goods and services while emphasizing the basic distinctions between these price determinants for non-tradable and tradable goods and services. The econometric part of the paper is based on VAR models, cointegration analysis, and vector error correction models. The empirical verification is carried out with the Czech economic data covering the period 1996-2007.