1887

OECD Economics Department Working Papers

Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.

The views expressed in these papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries.

English, French

Raising the Flexibility of the Slovak Economy during the Catch-Up Phase

As in other catch-up countries inflation is likely to stay high going forward due to nominal convergence. To better cope with the risk of a too rapid pick up of wages during the convergence process on the one hand and to raise the adjustment potential of the economy to macroeconomic shocks on the other, labour and product market flexibility is essential. Three main areas for improvement are discussed in this chapter. First, wage flexibility should be safeguarded by avoiding significant increases in minimum wages and by abolishing legal extension of collective wage settlements. Second, competition needs to be strengthened, especially in the liberal professions where entry and conduct regulation should be eased. In addition, the points of single contact that already exist for small enterprises should be extended to entrepreneurs of the liberal professions. Third, a wider use of information and communication technology (ICT) could lead to important productivity gains. Removing obstacles to the spread of e-business and a swift implementation of e-government are imperative. This Working Paper relates to the 2009 OECD Economic Survey of the Slovak Republic.

English

Keywords: labour market flexibility, product market flexibility, Slovak Republic, nominal convergence
JEL: D4: Microeconomics / Market Structure, Pricing, and Design; J31: Labor and Demographic Economics / Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs / Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials; O47: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity / Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence; J52: Labor and Demographic Economics / Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining / Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation; Collective Bargaining
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error