H75 - State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public PensionsNávrat zpět

The paper presents the volume of debts incurred as part of non-insurance social security benefits in the Czech Republic from 2016 to 2020 and defines the structure of these debts by individual types of non-insurance social security benefits, where 25% is attributable to parental allowance, followed by housing allowance (17%) and subsistence allowance (20%). The analysis deals with the number of debts broken down into paid, collected, settled by other means, written off for uncollectibility or extinction of the right. The study works with unique data obtained by summarisation from the appli-cation programmes used by the Labour Office of the Czech Republic, which showed a continuous decrease in total identified claims by 46% between 2016 and 2020. An analysis of time series and a regression and correlation analysis are performed in the paper. These methods confirm a decreasing trend in the number of total debts and a decreasing proportion of paid debts over time, in contrast to the ratio of outstanding debts, which has been increasing over time. Lastly, they also identify variability in the structure of social security benefits, i.e., inconsistency in the share of individual benefits over the period under review. Social expenditures are fundamental to state spending, but addressing their potential misuse is a sensitive political issue. From an economic perspective, this paradoxical situation leads to overlooking potential resources that could be potentially available through the elimination of purposeful exploitation of the social system, leaving the question of the frequency of purposeful claiming unanswered. Any potential political decision to reduce social expenditures, without an economic evaluation of the frequency and volume of purposefully claimed benefits from the social system, may not be optimal.

Environmental Improvement Possibilities for Local Governments: Example of Reducing PM10 Concentration in Air The municipality can significantly improve the air in its territory by regular cleaning of its street network. The aim of this study is therefore to demonstrate the positive effect of machine cleaning of roads on the reduction of PM10 dust particles in the air. These particles are the result of emissions from transport and more than 83% of them come from the so-called resuspension (the secondary whirling of particles that lie on the road). Cleanliness and care of public spaces, in which road cleaning may be included, belongs to the so-called compulsory tasks of self-governments in some legal regulations, e.g., Bavarian, Polish, Slovak and Serbian, and as this study shows, its positive effect is measurable, which is not common among activities of local municipalities. Therefore, it may be stated that the funds invested by local governments in mechanical road cleaning have a significant positive effect on reduction of PM10 particles in the air and thus on the health of their citizens. The study is based on measurements performed in the capital city Prague from 2013 to 2019 and uses monthly data from 4 measuring stations, for which it was also possible to obtain adequate meteorological data of variables that affect the occurrence of PM10 particles in the air. The results of the study can be used to properly set up the machine cleaning system so that its effect is as high as possible. Stata econometric software was used for the data analysis. The study builds on similar analyses carried out in recent years in Europe, the Arabian peninsula and Asia.

Component encouraging private savings was introduced or is under consideration in pension schemes of many countries. This diversification of old-age income sources shifts the responsibility for the level of retirement income to the individuals themselves and, at the same time, opens the question about their preparedness for such financial decisions. Inadequate savings could have enormous impact on their future life and determine their standard of living in the period of retirement. The aim of the paper is to identify key demographic and socio-economic factors determining individuals' proactive approach to the private pension savings. We also would like to point out group of individuals with a low level of the private savings involvement. These individuals are potentially poverty vulnerable in their old-age. Using representative sample of 2 826 citizens of the Slovak Republic from the Household Finance and Consumption Survey carried out by the National Bank of Slovakia, we have identified as key factors age, education, income, ownership of second real estate and other financial assets and sharing household with pensioners. Our research contributes to the extension of existing knowledge that can be used by countries with multi-pillar pension systems, absence of occupational employment funds and low availability of products for voluntary pension savings.

The article analyzes the possible impacts of the fully-funded (FF) pension system (the so-called Chilean model), which was introduced in the Czech Republic in 2012, on future pensions of contributors to the system and on state expenditures related to the pension system reform. The author performed calculations for 3 model examples of individuals who would participate solely in the FF and also of individuals who would contribute to both the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) and the FF during their lives. The calculations in all model examples were made for 4 average real annual interest rates and for 4 standardised income levels. The income replacement rates of the examined individuals were compared with the existing PAYG and with a hypothetical balanced PAYG. The aim was to determine the minimum rate of the pension funds' appreciation from whichthe transition to the FF would be profi table for all examined individuals. The article also attempts to identify the duration of the transition period, the moment after which the FF would become budget-neutral, and the approximate cost of the transition process.