Infant mortality in the Czech Republic and Europe: trends and patterns Abstract This Master's thesis addresses the development of infant mortality in the Czech Republic between the years 1950 and 2016 using more detailed indicators of infant mortality. To evaluate the impact of infant mortality rate, on the lengthening life expectancy at birth in the Czech Republic and selected European countries, a decomposition of life tables is included. Selected European countries are then compared with the use of cluster analysis, based on infant mortality indicators and life expectancy at birth by sex. Finally, an analysis is made on the basis of infant life tables which are calculated by sex, birth weight and legitimacy for the Czech Republic. Keywords: infant mortality, Czech Republic, European countries, tables of infant mortality, sex, child-legitimacy, birth weight, decomposition, cluster analysis

La tesi è una raccolta di tre saggi sulla soddisfazione sul posto di lavoro. Il primo capitolo utilizza il dataset panel BHPS per analizzare le differenze di soddisfazione lavorativa dei lavoratori impiegati nel settore nonprofit rispetto agli altri settori. Il secondo considera l'effetto del salario -sia quello del lavoratore che di un gruppo rilevante di riferimento- e degli schemi incentivanti di retribuzione sulla soddisfazione lavorativa. L'analisi si basa sul round 5 dello European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS). Il terzo capitolo analizza e critica la relazione da tempo condivisa in letteratura che i membri di organizzazioni sindacali riportano minore soddisfazione lavorativa rispetto ai non iscritti, mediante l'analisi dei dati dello European Social Survey (ESS),round 3 e 5. / The thesis provides a detailed examination of job satisfaction through three distinct essays. The first chapter uses UK household panel data (the BHPS) to consider differences in job satisfaction in the non-profit sector, compared with other sectors. The second looks at the effect of earnings – that of the respondent and of relevant other people – and of payment systems on job satisfaction. This is based on data from round 5 of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS). The third essay seeks to examine and to challenge the long-established finding that union members tend to have lower job satisfaction than non-members, and this is addressed with two rounds of data from the European Social Survey (ESS).

Cette thèse s’intéresse au défi que représente le rattrapage des niveaux de prix pour la stabilité macroéconomique des pays en transition d’Europe centrale et orientale, dans la perspective de leur future participation à la zone euro. A cet égard, une modélisation du taux de change réel d’équilibre suggère que l’appréciation réelle liée au rattrapage économique recouvre des évolutions de prix relatifs différentes suivant les régimes de change, dont témoignent des trajectoires d’endettement extérieur contrastées. Dans les économies en changes flexibles, la hausse du taux de change nominal favorise une appréciation endogène des termes de l’échange à moyen terme, en orientant les investissements directs étrangers et la réalisation des gains de productivité vers le secteur exposé de l’économie, ce qui se traduit par une appréciation du taux de change réel d’équilibre et une amélioration des comptes extérieurs. Dans les économies en changes fixes, les effets de valorisation liés à la hausse des prix relatifs domestiques tendent à orienter les investissements vers le secteur abrité de l’économie, entraînant une érosion de la compétitivité extérieure, dont témoigne le gonflement de la dette externe. Par ailleurs, l’intégration monétaire comporte des risques spécifiques pour la stabilité macroéconomique des économies en rattrapage, dans la mesure où elle s’accompagne d’un processus marqué de convergence des conditions de financement entre Etats membres, dès lors que la perspective de l’adhésion à l’espace monétaire commun devient crédible. Un modèle dynamique à anticipations rationnelles permet de montrer que face au choc de demande lié à une telle convergence financière, l’appréciation du taux de change nominal se révèle cruciale pour limiter la surchauffe de l’économie. A l’inverse, dans les économies en régime de change fixe, l’abaissement des primes de risque pays est susceptible de provoquer une montée de l’endettement extérieur, suivi d’enchaînements déflationnistes une fois dans l’union monétaire. / This research investigates the challenges of price level catching-up for macroeconomic stability in Central and Eastern European transition countries seeking to enter the Euro area. In this respect, an equilibrium real exchange rate model suggests that the process of real appreciation observed along economic catching-up in these countries can be ascribed to different relative price developments, depending on the exchange rate regime, as exemplified by contrasted external debt trajectories. In flexible exchange rate economies, the increase in the nominal exchange rate fosters an endogenous appreciation of the terms of trade in the medium run, by channelling foreign direct investment and associated productivity gains to the exposed sector of the economy, thus appreciating the equilibrium real exchange rate and strengthening the current account over time. In fixed exchange rate economies, positive valuation effects associated with the increase in domestic relative prices tend to divert investment to the sheltered sector, thus undermining external competitiveness and bringing about higher external debt. Furthermore, monetary integration entails specific risks for macroeconomic stability in catching-up economies, because it implies a process of rapid convergence in the financing conditions across member States, which takes place as soon as the perspective of accession to the common monetary area appears credible. A dynamic, rational expectations model shows that the appreciation of the nominal exchange rate becomes crucial to curtail the economic overheating triggered by the demand shock associated with financial convergence. By contrast, diminishing country risk premia under fixed exchange rate regimes are likely to cause ‘boom bust’ cycles, with an increase in external indebtedness followed by deflationary developments once in the monetary union.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att analysera opinionsskillnaderna mellan arton olika europeiska länder med fokus på klimatförändringar. Med avsikt att studera hur postmaterialismen har påverkat människors åsikt och se om det finns en koppling mellan denna förändring och deras inställning till klimatförändringarna. För att kunna svara på denna fråga har undersökningen använt statistikdata från European Social Survey. Resultatet visar att det finns en skillnad i ländernas åsikter om klimatförändringar och där det finns en likhet mellan postmaterialism och deras åsikt om klimatet. Studien hittade dock en starkare koppling mellan människors utbildningsnivå och deras inställning till klimatförändringar. Denna korrelation blev uppenbar i Östeuropa eftersom de inte hade samma ekonomiska tillväxt som norra och centrala Europa, men detta hade liknande åsikter som sina andra länder. / The aim of this study has been to analyse the opinion differences of eighteen different European countries, with the focus on climate change. With the intentions to study how the postmaterialism has affected people’s opinion and see if there is a link between this change and their attitude about climate change. In order to answer this question, the study has used statistic data from European Social Survey. The result finds that there is a difference in countries opinion about climate change and where there is a like between postmaterialism and their opinion about the climate. However, the study did find a stronger connection between people’s level of education and their attitude towards climate change. This correlation became palpable in Eastern Europe since they have not had the same economic growth as the northern and central Europe, but this hade similar opinions as their other countries.

From the United Kingdom's Brexit on June 23, 2016, to the formal Brexit on January 30, 2020, there has been a large amount of academic literature discussing the possible effects of Brexit. Among them, the literature on the impact of Brexit on tax policy reforms and capital markets in EU countries is too numerous to enumerate. However, the current research literature lacks a discussion of Central and Eastern European countries, and there is even less research on the link between capital markets and tax policy reforms. This article assumes that the impact of Brexit on the capital markets of CEE countries will cause the government to turn to tax increases to increase fiscal revenue. Three hypotheses are proposed under this assumption. In addition, the empirical research in this article uses the combination of the Poisson model and the Heckman selection model to conduct regression research on the overall taxation of CEE countries, changes in direct and indirect taxation tax policies and bond interest rates, government changes, and political parties left or right. It is concluded that Brexit has no significant impact on the capital markets of CEE countries, and has not caused enough shocks that the government will turn to the government to increase revenue by issuing more tax increases. And Brexit...

Fertility postponement in the Czech republic and selected European countries in the period 1990−2015 Abstract We have been able to observe the trend of shifting of maternity to later periods of life in European countries since the second half of the 20th century. However crucial for this thesis is to determine whether there have been disparity in delaying of maternity between selected Eastern European (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland) and Western European (Germany and Austria) countries since 1990 till present. The goal of this work is to find the relationship among setting of family policies, fertility rate of older women and respondents' views. In the first part of this thesis are outlined basic theories explaining postponing of maternity. There are also listed consequences related to the late maternity. The thesis touches a topic of family policies which influence the phenomenon of late maternity. It presents several fundamental tools of family policies and compares them among selected countries. The second part focuses on a description of demographic indicators that demonstrate the shift in timing of maternity. The main analysis in this thesis is a logistic regression, which explains respondent's views on issues related to a harmonization of family and employment by selected explanatory variables from...

This dissertation uses Critical Discourse Analysis to examine China's strategic use of desecuritised language in its 16/17+1 foreign policy targeting the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Through the lens of securitisation theory and strategic narratives, the analysis suggests that China's foreign policy narrative targeting the CEE countries is strategic in nature and is a representation of China's ambition to form a new global order. As such, the desecuritisation strategies are used instrumentally to alleviate 'China threat' perception, increase the attractiveness of China in the region, and to further achieve its economic and geopolitical goals. Among political elites in the Visegrád 4 countries, namely Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, the level of reception of China's strategic narratives varies. The pro-China attitude at the governmental level is mainly motivated by economic incentives promised in the Chinese narrative as well as the governments' own political agendas. In a parallel process, converse anti-China sentiments and re-securitisation of China in the countries are largely connected to the primacy of the trans-Atlantic relationship with the US as well as the importance attached to European values. Keywords Chinese foreign policy, Central and Eastern European Countries,...