In this paper, we provide the first analysis of the level and determinants of sovereign exposure of banking systems in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, thus contributing to the existing ...literature on sovereign exposures and the sovereign-bank nexus. Results of descriptive analysis showed that exposure to sovereign debt securities in CEE countries is substantially higher than in euro area countries, which can be explained by the lower development of financial markets in this region. We also found evidence of home-bias in CEE and emphasized the role of different monetary policy regimes in explaining differences in exposure among CEE countries. Results of panel analysis showed that changes of debt securities in bank balance sheets in CEE countries are mostly determined by broader macroeconomic conditions and to a lesser extent by their regulatory frameworks. In addition, we did not find evidence of so-called reach-for-yield behaviour. Our results indicate that efforts to reduce sovereign exposure in CEE countries require strong collaboration of not only regulators, but also of fiscal authorities and other policy makers able to contribute to the development of financial markets in this region. Moreover, regulators should especially focus on reducing the home-bias in CEE.
U ovom radu daju se novi empirijski dokazi relevantni za rasprave o neovisnosti monetarne politike u kontekstu uvoðenja eura u tri zemlje Srednje i Istočne Europe (CEE): Češkoj, Maðarskoj i Poljskoj. ...Za razliku od mnogih drugih autora, u ovom se radu težište stavlja na realne, a ne na nominalne kamatne stope, jer su realne kamatne stope u središtu moderne makroekonomske teorije i monetarne politike. U istraživanju se primjenjuje nekoliko metodologija za ispitivanje konvergencije realnih kamatnih stopa izmeðu ovih zemalja i euro-područja kako bi se utvrdili glavne odrednice realnih kamatnih stopa. Na temelju testova jediničnog korijena nalazimo dokaze o konvergenciji realnih kamatnih stopa u tim zemljama, čime se potvrðuje hipoteza o realnom kamatnom paritetu (RIRP). Nadalje, primijenjena analiza glavnih komponenata (PCA) ukazuje na činjenicu da se zajedničkim faktorom izdvojenim iz uzorka zemalja Srednje i Istočne Europe i pojedinih zemalja euro-područja može objasniti visok udio kretanja realnih kamatnih stopa u tim zemljama. Konačno, rezultati našeg predloženog novog analitičkog okvira za analizu odrednica realnih kamatnih stopa u malim otvorenim gospodarstvima, temeljenog na Bayesovskom VAR modelu s pretpostavkom blok-egzogenosti (eng. block exogeneity ), pokazuju da vanjski šokovi imaju nezanemariv učinak na kretanje realnih kamatnih stopa u odabranim zemljama srednje i istočne Europe. Dakle, naši rezultati pokazuju da realne kamatne stope u SIE ovise o čimbenicima koji su izvan dosega domaćih kreatora monetarne politike. U tom smislu može se zaključiti da je (konvencionalna) neovisnost monetarne politike u tim zemljama ograničena. Stoga gubitak neovisnosti monetarne politike vidimo kao pretjerano naglašeni argument u raspravama o uvoðenju eura u tim zemljama. Meðutim, svjesni smo da su se nacionalne središnje banke u Srednjoj i Istočnoj Europi nedavno počele više oslanjati na nekonvencionalne mjere, što im daje veći stupanj fleksibilnosti (i autonomije).
The aim of the paper is to analyse the indicators of the healthcare system efficiency in Croatia and to assess its effectiveness based on a comparison with other EU countries. The analysis of the ...efficiency of the healthcare system in Croatia and 21 selected EU countries in the period from 2013 to 2018 was conducted by the application of the dynamic DEA window analysis (WDEA). According to the results of the analysis, the overall efficiency of expenditure on healthcare in relation to average life expectancy is on the lowest level in Croatia, amounting to 57% in 2018. While cost-effectiveness of the Croatian healthcare system is on the maximum level of 100%, systemic effectiveness amounts to only 48%. According to the aforementioned indicator, Croatia has recorded the lowest efficiency in relation to the selected EU countries, the efficiency of which amounted to 88% in 2018. Therefore, inefficiencies of the healthcare system are generated during the transformation of intermediary inputs into treatment outcomes, which means that Croatia could achieve the same health outcomes with a lesser engagement of intermediary resources. According to the results of the panel analysis, smoking and alcohol consumption are the key determinants of the efficiency of healthcare protection in EU countries. Croatia does not invest enough into health promotion measures and prevention of diseases, for which it spends only 3% of the overall expenditure on healthcare. Strengthening of public healthcare policies against smoking and alcohol consumption and the increase of excise duties on tobacco products and alcoholic beverages could indirectly influence the improvement of health outcomes, while maintaining the existing levels of expenditure on healthcare. Key words: healthcare system efficiency, financial sustainability of healthcare system, DEA method.
Cilj ovog rada je analizirati pokazatelje ucinkovitosti sustava zdravstvene zastite u Hrvatskoj te ocijeniti njegovu ucinkovitost na temelju usporedbe s drugim zemljama EU-a. Analiza ucinkovitosti ...zdravstvenog sustava u Hrvatskoj i 21 odabranoj zemlji EU-a u razdoblju 2013.-2018. godine provodi se primjenom dinamicke DEA window analize (WDEA). Prema rezultatima analize, ukupna ucinkovitost rashoda za zdravstvo u Hrvatskoj, promatrana kao odnos rashoda za zdravstvo i ocekivanog zivotnog vijeka pri rodenju, na najnizoj je razini u EU te iznosi 57% u 2018. godini. Dok je troskovna ucinkovitost hrvatskog zdravstvenog sustava na maksimalnoj razini od 100%, sistemska ucinkovitost iznosi svega 48%. Prema navedenom pokazatelju, Hrvatska biljezi najnizu ucinkovitost u odnosu na odabrane zemlje EU-a ciji je prosjek iznosio 88% u 2018. godini. Dakle, neucinkovitosti zdravstvenog sustava generiraju se prilikom transformacije intermedijarnih inputa u ishode lijecenja, odnosno Hrvatska bi iste zdravstvene ishode mogla ostvariti uz manji angazman intermedijarnih resursa. Prema rezultatima panel analize, pusenje i konzumacija alkohola kljucne su determinante ucinkovitosti zdravstvene zastite u zemljama EU-a. Hrvatska nedovoljno ulaze u mjere promocije zdravlja te prevenciju bolesti za koju izdvaja svega 3% ukupnih rashoda za zdravstvo. Jacanjem javnozdravstvenih politika protiv pusenja i konzumacije alkohola te povecanjem trosarina na duhanske proizvode i alkoholna pica moguce je indirektno utjecati na poboljsanje zdravstvenih ishoda, uz zadrzavanje postojece razine izdvajanja za zdravstvo. JEL: H51, I18 Kljucne rijeci: ucinkovitost zdravstvenog sustava, financijska odrzivost zdravstvenog sustava, DEA metoda. The aim of the paper is to analyse the indicators of the healthcare system efficiency in Croatia and to assess its effectiveness based on a comparison with other EU countries. The analysis of the efficiency of the healthcare system in Croatia and 21 selected EU countries in the period from 2013 to 2018 was conducted by the application of the dynamic DEA window analysis (WDEA). According to the results of the analysis, the overall efficiency of expenditure on healthcare in relation to average life expectancy is on the lowest level in Croatia, amounting to 57% in 2018. While cost-effectiveness of the Croatian healthcare system is on the maximum level of 100%, systemic effectiveness amounts to only 48%. According to the aforementioned indicator, Croatia has recorded the lowest efficiency in relation to the selected EU countries, the efficiency of which amounted to 88% in 2018. Therefore, inefficiencies of the healthcare system are generated during the transformation of intermediary inputs into treatment outcomes, which means that Croatia could achieve the same health outcomes with a lesser engagement of intermediary resources. According to the results of the panel analysis, smoking and alcohol consumption are the key determinants of the efficiency of healthcare protection in EU countries. Croatia does not invest enough into health promotion measures and prevention of diseases, for which it spends only 3% of the overall expenditure on healthcare. Strengthening of public healthcare policies against smoking and alcohol consumption and the increase of excise duties on tobacco products and alcoholic beverages could indirectly influence the improvement of health outcomes, while maintaining the existing levels of expenditure on healthcare. Key words: healthcare system efficiency, financial sustainability of healthcare system, DEA method.
This paper analyses the spillover effects oil price movements to consumer prices of transportation services in 27 EU countries, employing fixed-effects panel data estimation on the period from 2020 ...to 2023. This is the period of a sudden surge in global crude oil prices driven primarily by supply bottlenecks and the conflict in Ukraine. We analyze spillover effects on transport services prices as an aggregate, and separately for different modes of passenger transport, which include air passenger transport, sea and waterway passenger transport and railway passenger transport. We find that the effect of crude oil price on the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) of transport services is positive and statistically significant at 5% level. However, the effect of crude oil price on HICP of transport services varies across countries and different modes of passenger transport. The effect of crude oil price increase is less pronounced for road transport than for air and sea and waterway passenger transport, while the highest effect is estimated for air passenger transport. In contrast, recent oil price shock did not have a statistically significant effect on HICP of passenger railway transport. Overall, recent oil price shock had a limited impact on consumer prices of transport services in the EU. This can be mainly attributed to the implementation of targeted policy measures across the EU aimed at mitigating the inflationary effects of the global energy crisis.
This paper brings an empirical assessment of economies of scale in local government units in Croatia. Using cross-section OLS models, we found statistically significant U-shaped relationship between ...local per capita expenditures and population size, while controlling for various demographic, socio-economic and institutional factors. The choice of control variables in the paper is based on the existing empirical literature but also includes factors capturing the specificities of Croatian economy and local government institutional setup. Using estimated regression coefficients we calculated the optimal size of local units and showed that population size is below optimal in 72% of cities and 76% of municipalities (based on median results).
In this paper we use the panel VAR model with exogenous variables to analyse the effects of various structural characteristics of the economies on the effectiveness of government consumption in the ...Central Eastern and Southeastern European region (CESEE). More precisely, we analyse the effects of government consumption on economic growth in this region, controlling for the effects of the size of the economy, level of public debt, level of tax burden, openness of the economy, rigidity of the labour market, monetary regime and the phase of the business cycle. Our results indicate that these characteristics have a significant impact on the effectiveness of fiscal policy (in terms of the size of the fiscal multiplier). Also, these effects are in line with the theoretical assumptions as the recessionary phase of the cycle, size of the economy, rigidity of the labour market and the fixed exchange rate regime increase the average size of fiscal multipliers while tax burden, indebtedness and openness of the economies reduce the size of the fiscal multiplier, when compared to the base model.
Originality/value: This study is especially valuable given the increasing interest and recognised potential of NBS, a novel concept with varied levels of implementation in HEIs across countries.