O50 - Economywide Country Studies: GeneralReturn

The expected development of economic reality is a determining variable for many companies and their demand planning. Do their reflections on future market development differ depending on how big the companies are? The study focused on business cycle indicators that the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) publishes regularly. Until 2017, the CZSO published these indicators sorted according to company size, but then it abandoned the division. This study aims to evaluate whether the size of companies affects their estimate of future demand and to use these results to point out whether the termination of the publishing of these indicators, broken down by company size, was justified. The data were evaluated with correlation and cluster analysis. The research confirms that the nature of the forecasts for different-sized companies varies in terms of examined prediction indicators. Small and medium-sized companies agree in their projections, and large companies (in general) are more pessimistic than small and medium-sized ones. The breakdown made according to the size of companies should be maintained as it is an essential signal for policymakers.

The paper presents results of World Bank survey in 2005 undertaken within the project Doing Business, with special regard to the Czech Republic position. Doing business conditions are assessed particularly according to the regulation burden and its impacts on entrepreneurship. The structure follows ten indicators of doing business conditions covered in the survey in 2005: starting and closing a business, dealing with licenses, hiring and firing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts. The paper includes explanation of the specific features of the Czech Republic legislation, and already undertaken, recommended or prepared changes directed to improvement of most critical points. Moreover, there are presented the relations between regulation quality and other economic and institutional indicators: tax burden, economic freedom and corruption levels.