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50 Publications
The role of food and housing expenditures in household economic well-being: Evidence from Czechia
This study focuses on the food and housing expenditures of households relative to their disposable incomes, utilizing a unique opportunity of merged national-level data from the Household Budget Survey and EU-Statistics on Income and Living Conditions in Czechia (2020–2023). The study considers both Engel’s law on food expenditures and Schwabe’s law on housing expenditures by verifying their implications for poverty measures. Interpretation of the two laws assumes that households spending the same shares…
Topics: Housing, Wages and Incomes, Standard of Living
How Does „The Share of the Pie“ Matter? European Empirics on the Financial Satisfaction of Partners.
This paper aims to extend the knowledge of the relationship between within-couple income distribution and partners’ financial satisfaction, using data from the EU-SILC 2013 for 15 European countries, for the first time including data from Eastern Europe. We find that men’s preferences typically concur with the traditional male-breadwinner family model, as husband’s satisfaction decreases with a larger female share of household income. In contrast, in nine countries, men’s satisfaction actually increase…
How do youth labor flows differ from those of older workers?
This chapter analyzes youth labor market dynamics, their structure, and their policy implications, focusing on selected European Union countries during the various stages of the Great Recession and comparing flows between labor market statuses for young people (aged 16–34 years) with those for prime-age individuals (aged 35–54 years). The main result is that young workers are more likely to move between employment and unemployment in both directions.…
Publication Type: Chapter in a Book / Monograph
Department: Economic and Religious Studies
Beyond income poverty: Subjective poverty and indebtedness
This research note examines some aspects of the financial situation of households and individuals that are not captured by the at-risk-of-poverty rate, an indicator based solely on household income. Although income is a crucial factor for a household’s financial situation and economic well-being, the dimensions of costs, expenses and liabilities are no less important, especially with the current global challenges of rising energy prices and overall inflation. Using the EU-SILC 2020 data (module on ‘over-in…
Topics: European Union, Debts, Wages and Incomes, Social Inequalities, Standard of Living
Publication Type: Professional Book / Monograph
Department: Economic and Religious Studies
Hospodaření a finanční spokojenost českých domácností
Finanční hospodaření domácností je komplexní proces, ve kterém hrají roli různorodé faktory ovlivňující finanční zdraví domácnosti. Těmito faktory jsou v první řadě výše příjmu a výdajů domácností včetně způsobu zajištění bydlení, velikost a struktura domácností, vzdělání či finanční gramotnost. Důležitým aspektem hospodaření je vyrovnanost rozpočtu, která vychází z rozdělení finančních zdrojů mezi pravidelné výdaje pokrývající základní potřeby…
Topics: Economy, Wages and Incomes
Pojištění v českých domácnostech
Pojištění zvyšuje blahobyt domácností tím, že přenáší nejistotu z jednotlivců, kteří se vyhýbají riziku, na instituce, které jsou vůči riziku neutrální. Hlavním motivem pro nákup pojištění je tedy averze k riziku s cílem vyhnout se ztrátě. Pojištění může zlepšovat finanční odolnost a celkovou finanční stabilitu domácností s obzvláště velkým významem pro domácnosti s nižšími příjmy.Poptávka domácností po pojištění závisí na mnoha faktorech, zahrnuj…
Topics: Economy, Wages and Incomes
Půjčky, úvěry a zadluženost v českých domácnostech
V čem můžou být půjčky a úvěry prospěšné a jaká jsou jejich rizika?Využívání půjček a úvěrů je jedním z pilířů finanční odolnosti a stability domácností. Půjčky a úvěry domácností jsou běžné ve všech vyspělých zemích, přičemž nutně nemusí mít k negativní důsledky. Moderní společnost je zvyklá žít alespoň částečně na úvěr a půjčky jsou rozšířené ve všech skupinách napříč obyvatelstvem. Zadlužení má však ve vztahu k finanční odolno…
Topics: Debts, Economy, Wages and Incomes
Finanční náročnost bydlení v českých domácnostech
Náklady na bydlení obecně představují nejvýznamnější položku spotřebních výdajů domácností. Zatímco průměrná evropská domácnost za bydlení včetně energií a dalších plateb utratila v roce 2021 25 % svého rozpočtu, v Česku to bylo dokonce 28 %.Náklady na bydlení se do velké míry odvíjejí od toho, zda domácnost žije ve vlastním bytě či domě, zda má hypotéku či půjčku, nebo zda bydlí v nájmu. V Česku žilo v roce 2021 78 % lidí v domácnostech, které vlastni…
Topics: Housing, Economy, Wages and Incomes
Dlouhodobá finanční rezerva v českých domácnostech
Dlouhodobé úspory pomáhají udržovat stabilní standard a blahobyt lidí v různých fázích života či dokonce podporovat růst životní úrovně v čase, a to i po výpadku příjmů, který lze očekávat např. v důchodu. Hlavními důvody dlouhodobého spoření bývá právě zajištění na důchod, investice do nemovitosti či do vyššího vzdělání, ať už pro sebe, nebo pro své děti. Cílem této studie je identifikovat hlavní faktory, které mohou působit na vytváření dlouhodobýc…
Topics: Economy, Wages and Incomes
Krátkodobá finanční rezerva a finanční odolnost Čechů
Cílem této studie je identifikovat hlavní faktory, které mohou působit na odolnost českých domácností vůči finančním šokům skrze vliv na vytváření úspor – krátkodobé finanční rezervy.…
Topics: Economy, Wages and Incomes, Standard of Living
Subjective equivalence scales in Eastern versus Western European countries
We show that economies of scale estimated individually for each EU country differ from the officially adopted OECD‐modified scale the differences across the countries further confirm the prevailing East‐West disparity. Using the minimum income question in the 2019 EU‐Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey, we demonstrate that applying the estimated country-specific subjective equivalence scales, instead of the uniform OECD-modified scale, results in up to a 6 pp change in the at‐risk‐of‐…
Topics: European Union, Wages and Incomes, Standard of Living
Trends in subjective income poverty rates in the European Union
When developing anti-poverty policies, policymakers need accurate data on the prevalence of poverty. In this paper, we focus on subjective poverty, a concept which has been largely neglected in the literature, though it remains a conceptually appealing way to define poverty. The primary goal of this study is to re-examine the concept of subjective poverty measurement and to estimate trends in subjective income poverty rates in the European Union. Our estimations are based on a Minimum Income Question using dat…
Topics: European Union, Wages and Incomes, Standard of Living
Measuring Income Poverty in the EU: Visegrád Countries and European Empirical Data
This book recapitulates the methodology of income poverty measurement applied in the EU and provides statistics and characteristics of the poor in Visegrád countries, supplemented by appendices with results for EU countries. After introducing the data, which is drawn from EU-SILC 2005-2018 and HBS 2010, the main analytical chapter focuses on methodological issues arround measuring income poverty in the European concept, with a focus on the suitability of the currently applied equivalence scales. Sensitivity o…
Topics: Economy, Wages and Incomes, Social Inequalities, Standard of Living
Publication Type: Professional Book / Monograph
Do low minimum wages disserve workers? A case study of the Czech and Slovak Republics
This article analyses the effects of minimum wage on employment in the Czech and Slovak Republics based on 2005–17 EU-SILC data. Our results contribute to the scant literature on minimum wage effects in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. While prior empirical findings concurred with the effects of minimum wage on labour market outcomes in CEE countries when the minimum wage is relatively high, there is ambiguity when the minimum wage is relatively low. In Slovakia we find that regular minimum wag…
Topics: Economy, Wages and Incomes, Work
Intra-household distribution of resources and income poverty and inequality in Visegrad countries
Purpose – The authors aim to demonstrate the impact of allowing for unequal intra-household distribution of resources on income poverty and income inequality.Design/methodology/approach – The paper applies a collective consumption model to study the intrahousehold distribution of resources in Visegrad countries (V4). It utilises subjective financial satisfaction as a proxy for indirect utility from individual consumption to estimate the indifference scales within couples instead of the traditional equival…
Topics: Economy, Wages and Incomes, Social Inequalities
Equivalence scale and income poverty: Two approaches how to estimate country-specific scale for the Czech Republic
The at-risk-of-poverty rate, the relative income poverty indicator applied in the EU, can be highly sensitive to the equivalence scale used to transform household income to an equivalent for individuals. This study applies two well-established approaches to estimate the equivalence scale: an ‘objective’ one, based on consumption expenditures available in the national Household Budget Survey, and a ‘subjective’ one, based on the Minimum Income Question available in EU–Statistics on Income and Living C…
Topics: Wages and Incomes, Standard of Living
Poverty in the Czech Republic. A Critical Look at EU Indicators. 2020 Update of Tables and Figures
In 2015 and 2016, we published a study entitled “POVERTY IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC. A Critical Look at EU Indicators”, first in Czech (2015) and later in English (2016). The study aimed to provide a critical look at the design of poverty indicators, considering the frequency of their use and their political significance.Though we used various data sources, the main source was the representative statistical survey carried out under the supervision of Eurostat, the European Union Statistics on Income and Living …
Topics: Economy, Standard of Living
Estimating subjective poverty lines with discrete information
This paper proposes a novel methodology for the estimation of subjective poverty lines (SPLs) using a discrete information approach that obviates the potential discomfort of asking respondents directly about the value of their individual SPL. To estimate income SPLs, we utilize the Youden index. Using a simulated data-set, we first show that the level of bias between the estimated SPLs and their corresponding actual values is low. Next, we demonstrate an application of the proposed methodology to the EU-SILC 2…
Topics: Social Inequalities, Standard of Living
Minimum wage and youth employment in regions of the Visegrád countries
This paper estimates the youth employment effects of minimum wages in the Visegrád countries: Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The analyses are based on a regional panel dataset for the period 2003–16. Our results indicate that changes in minimum wages measured as a ratio of regional average wages have not negatively affected youth employment rates in the Visegrád countries at the national level. Detailed analyses indicate that changes in the ratio of minimum to average wages may have dampened regio…
Topics: Wages and Incomes, Work
Choosing an optimal material deprivation indicator threshold
Severe material deprivation, a dimension of the poverty and social exclusion index, one of Europe 2020 Strategy headline indicators, is defined as enforced lack of at least four of nine specific items. Proposals for modifications in the indicator include the Material and Social Deprivation indicator which is based on an updated set of thirteen items, whereas the choice of the threshold was data-driven. This paper proposes a simple, yet a rigorous methodology based on the Youden index to set a threshold to clas…
Topics: Social Inequalities, Standard of Living
Returns to bachelor’s and master’s degree in tertiary education: the case of the Czech Republic after the Bologna Process
The primary objective of this study was to analyse the development of the effect of the bachelor’s and master’s tertiary degree on both respondents’ wage and socioeconomic status in the Czech labour market ten years after the Bologna Process. For the purposesof the study, structural modelling was applied using the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC, 2010–2017) and Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC, 2011/12) data. The results revealed…
Topics: Wages and Incomes, Education
Publication Type: Article with impact factor
Subjective equivalence scales and income poverty in Eastern vs Western European countries
This study uses the intersection approach to estimate Subjective Poverty Lines and implicit subjective equivalence scales for European countries. The subjective poverty lines are derived from the Minimum Income Question included in the 2017 EU–Statistics on Income and Living Conditions data. Subjective equivalence scales differ across the European region, showing lower economies of scale for Eastern European countries. When the estimated subjective equivalence scales are applied to derive the official at-ris…
Topics: Standard of Living
Setting Social Status in Couples and Partners’ Budgetary Discretion in Central European Countries
The conventional optics of social stratification research—in which the social position of the family unit is seen as being determined by the status of the male head of the household—has been challenged since the early 1970s. Economic research has also questioned the approach that views the household as a single unit. Given the changing circumstances affecting the family and the increasing proportion of couples with female primacy in terms of earnings, education, and socio-economic category, these approache…
Topics: Social Inequalities, Standard of Living
On the Measurement of the Income Poverty Rate: The Equivalence Scale across Europe
The methodology used to determine the at-risk-of-poverty rate commonly applied in the European context is often criticised for arbitrary steps in its construction. This study questions the first step – the equivalence scale applied to transform the disposable income of households of different sizes into comparable units. First, we hypothesise that economies of scale are lower in Central-Eastern European countries than in their Western counterparts. We assess the hypothesis using a simple descriptive analysis…
Topics: Standard of Living
How Does “The Share of the Pie” Matter? European Empirics on the Financial Satisfaction of Partners
This paper aims to extend the knowledge of the relationship between within-couple income distribution and partners’ financial satisfaction, using data from the EU-SILC 2013 for 15 European countries, for the first time including data from Eastern Europe. We find that men’s preferences typically concur with the “traditional” male-breadwinner family model, as husband’s satisfaction decreases with a larger female share of household income. In contrast, in nine countries, men’s satisfaction actually in…
Topics: Economy, European Union, Gender, Wages and Incomes, Standard of Living
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