F40 - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance: GeneralNávrat zpět

We investigate the effects of trade openness and international financial inflows (including foreign direct investment, remittances and foreign aid inflows) on Africa's productive capacity and how governance institutions are moderating these effects. We adopt the dynamic system GMM modelling framework and the Bun and Carree (2005) bias-corrected least square dummy variable estimator with a panel of 43 African economies. We also use the Driscoll and Kraay (1998) standard error fixed effect estimation, which controls for cross-sectional dependence to provide robustness check. We find that trade openness and the various components of international financial inflows are significant drivers of productive capacity in Africa, and that governance institutions are moderating and enhancing their effects. We also find that renewable energy consumption, human capital development and infrastructure development are promoting Africa's productive capacity. We highlight the policy implications of these findings, which among others, encourage policymakers and leaders in Africa to focus on policies that can enhance cross border trade, attract international financial inflows and entrench high-quality institutions.

Continuous technological changes in various industries are necessary for achieving economic development goals. Logistics, as an integral part of the supply chain, is gaining an increasingly significant role for national economies. To encourage its further development, especially in the era of intensive digitization and the context of Industry 4.0, innovations and new technologies are seen as important drivers. The paper examines the impact of capacity for innovation and availability of latest technologies on countries' overall logistics performance, as well as individual components of international logistics. Additionally, the role of export and import as moderators of this relationship are analysed, to see the patterns of its influence in open economies. The empirical results provide evidence of a positive direct impact of selected technological variables on the elements of international logistics, as well as a positive effect of export and import on the Logistics Performance Index (LPI), while the introduction of moderators into the analysis, using the Baron & Kenny model, points out that the impact of technological components is weaker in economies with a higher volume of exports.

The objective of this paper is to analyse the outflow of primary income from the Czech Republic in comparison with the inflow of foreign direct investment and to show the causes of this phenomenon and the need for active economic policy in the area of primary income outflows. We look at the impact of pension outflows in the form of dividends on our economy as well as on the external balance from the perspective of the current account of the balance of payments. Attention is also paid to comparing pension outflows with inflows from domestic FDI abroad. The intention is also to test the hypothesis of a relationship between economic growth and FDI inflows and to test the validity of the investment life cycle hypothesis. Data are available for the period 1993-2022, published by the Czech National Bank, and only the period 1998-2021 will be included in the analysis. The long period under study is justified in an attempt to capture the impact of significant milestones that occurred during this period on the behaviour of foreign investors.

The main objective of this paper is to analyse which factors have an impact on the allocation of Czech foreign direct investment (FDI) in EU countries. Multivariate panel regression with general macroeconomic variables and time dummy variables using Eurostat data for the period 2013-2019 was performed. Indicators of a tax system promoting and/or enabling aggressive tax planning, and other more general indicators were included in the model. This paper provides the opposite view by analysing the flow of FDI from a transition economy to more advanced economies. The results suggest that Czech FDI is placed in developed countries with lower statutory corporate income tax rates, and with which the Czech Republic has a larger volume of foreign trade. Furthermore, it is confirmed that the factors affecting allocation of Czech FDI in the EU are the distance between the capital cities and the existence of the so-called patent box regime.

The paper deals with effects of trade liberalization of EU goods exports to the USA. Despite the current protectionist tendencies of US President Donald Trump, the USA is strongly motivated to promote a deeper trade liberalization in the longer horizon, further strengthening bilateral trade flows, increasing economic efficiency, and thus contributing to the growth of both economies. The primary objective is to evaluate a hypothesis which states that reducing political trade barriers could notably increase the flows. We use gravity models and our own constructed non-tariff trade barrier time series based on tens of thousands of values for EU-28 countries in relation to the USA between 1995–2014. The data are obtained from an analysis of US legislature, in contrast to previous studies which used subjective survey data. The secondary goal is to assess whether a substantial reduction of non-tariff barriers is realistic or not, an issue which other researchers have overlooked. The level of bilateral non-tariff barriers imposed by the USA against EU exporters is rather low in the international comparison, a substantial reduction is not a reasonable assumption. We conclude that dealing with non-tariff trade barriers is crucial as it can substantially increase the bilateral trade flows. Even a less optimistic scenario, with a smaller decrease in trade barriers, suggests that the EU goods exports to the USA could be increased by more than 20%.

This article tries to summarize achievements of ten years anniversary of WTO (1995-2005) and the negotiations taking place at its summits from Seattle (1999) to Hongkong (2005). These achievements could be characterized at best as mediocre ones. WTO has been muddling through numerous disputes, the most important of which have been and still are agricultural subsidies of developed countries. Due to double standards and sometimes lack of transparency at least three summits (Seattle, Cancún and Doha) almost failed and the Katar Round ended deadlocked for 2004. The last Hongkong summit (December 2005) saved WTO functionality mainly through some concessions demanded by developing countries" since 1998. Katar Round, unfortunately, is still far from any safe landing. Nevertheless, the article praises some good results, too. The whole decade of such partial and practical struggling open, hovewer, also some issues important for theory of international economics, for example such as optimality of global vers. regional-subregional options for the future international trade liberalization, etc. The article, of course, cannot pretend solving but only draws attention of academic research resp. sorting them and establishing their hierarchy.

This contribution is focused on the core changes and trends in the globalized world economy. As the globalization advances, countries and regions are challenged to shape more flexible arrangements to ensure that new risks are dealt with and the new opportunities are exploited. It is Europe's regions that are coming to the fore in matters as capacity - building and growth - related activities. As a locally rooted approach, regional cooperation can harness institutions, encourage creativity and take into account local labor, skills, infrastructure, economic mentality, business environment and communities at different levels of decision - making. Globalization has affected the magnitudes, composition and directions of capital flows. Namely in the sphere of foreign direct investment (FDI) that constitute a patent complex of capital, experience, knowledge and operational links with partners abroad. FDI contribute to the economic advancement, especially in the emerging market economies, and has proved to be resilient during financial crises. Attention is also set on motivation, benefits and disputed aspects of FDI.

The Czech economy has been characterized by a rapidly increasing external income balance deficit since 1998, which was caused by an increasing outflow of FDI earnings. The paper analyses factors, which determine the total amount of FDI earnings in a host economy and their subsequent division into reinvested earnings and repatriated profits. Three main factors are examined: total FDI stock in the economy and its structure, the FDI rate of return and the FDI financial life cycle. Growing total FDI stock, which reaches 51 % of Czech GDP, is the most influential factor because the FDI rate of return has been approximately stable exceeding 10 %. An outstanding amount of reinvested earnings in the Czech economy negatively influences the current account deficit, which exceeds the GDP 5 % benchmark rate, although reinvested earnings do not represent actual financial outflows.

This article highlights the diagnosis of selected determinants decisive for evaluation of comparative advantages in a commodity group under corresponding theoretical research of doctrines on comparative advantage, international trade, and competitiveness with view to their contribution to the present pace. However, we put our attention just for selected postulates from their vast hierarchy reflecting the topic most complex. The contents of this article is divided into two parts, the first being more theoretical, followed by a detailed analyses of trade and payment figures of Slovakia since 1995 - 2002. Based on their evaluation we present the RCA index measures within a selected commodity structure. Conclusions are made in form of some proponenments for the future improvement of SR competitive ability within EU.