Energy constitutes an essential share of costs across any economy. The percentage of electricity in the overall energy consumption is steadily increasing. This increase, however, is not reflected correctly in the consumption basket relevant for measuring inflation and, therefore, for monetary policy formulation. We argue that the energy mix reflected in inflation should be revised in favour of electricity. We present an analysis of inflationary pressures across Europe and decompose the impact of energy categories on headline inflation. Building on the inflation expectations framework, this study examines the characteristics and magnitude of the current energy price dynamics and quantifies its share in the countries’ effective inflation. Our research also confirms a compelling insight into the country’s energy structure and inflationary pressures when a larger share of renewable electricity sources proves to be associated with lower inflation. Finally, we argue that the energy price shock cannot be viewed as a one-shot event as in the case of oil price shocks in the past. We draw recommendations for monetary policy formulation. The implication of renewable sources on inflation should be of interest to policymakers, especially in times of high, almost galloping inflation rates in some European countries, unstable fossil energy sources supply due to geopolitical instability, and climate crisis.

The paper deals with the issue of unavailability housing in the Czech Republic, which affects an increasing number of people. As a result of the covid-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in property prices and widening the price to income gap, which mainly affects young people. This paper describes the basic causes of this undesirable phenomenon in society and provides recommendations that should be quickly adopted by the state and municipalities to improve the situation as we see a risk of an increase in social tension in society and a deterioration in the availability of employment for low-income professions.

In this paper we analyze the effect of minimum wage change on selected labour market indicators such as duration of employment, hours worked, unemployment by education or profession or long-term unemployment. Our research is based on Eurostat and OECD data for V4 countries. The hypothesis discussed is whether the effect of minimum wage increase is positive or negative and we discuss the issue of economic regulation more generally. The output values of the regressions coefficients of all the V4 countries showed that the effects are more positive than negative. Mapping the overall intensity of effects of the minimum wage on selected indicator of the labour market in the Czech Republic and Hungary indicated a low sensitivity. The effects were very weak in Slovakia and Poland. The results of the analysis complied with the results of the domestic and international research in 13 cases and the results were different in 6 cases. Slightly more often they confirmed more positive effects of the minimum wage on selected indicators of the labour market than negative effects.

This paper examines the German Gas Storage Levy (Gasspeicherumlage, GSU), enacted in response to the 2022 energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. By requiring Trading Hub Europe (THE) to inject substantial gas volumes into storage at soaring prices and then recoup costs via a levy, Germany effectively secured sufficient storage levels to avert a winter supply emergency. However, the application of the levy to cross-border flows provoked legal and political tensions with neighbouring member states, who argued that the measure undermined EU market integration and energy solidarity principles. Through legislative analysis, market data breakdown, and econometric testing, this paper shows how the GSU reshaped cross-border gas flows, created structural price breaks above certain levy thresholds, and ultimately forced a rollback of the charge on exports. The study concludes that while the GSU was successful in securing Germany’s gas supply, its unintended regional consequences highlight the need for a coordinated EU-level approach to crisis responses and cost recovery mechanisms.

The aim of the article is to determine the nature and intensity of the slope of the Phillips curves (PCs) for the workers vulnerable to unemployment in the individual phases of the economic cycle between 2000 and 2016 in the Visegrad Group (V4). We use linear regressions to substitute the household deflator of unemployment. In order to avoid a reduction in the number of observations and to reduce the validity of the estimates, which is characteristic of the Break model, we modify the one-year model of the categorical variable phase of the cycle. The results obtained are compared with the findings of international authors. Throughout the monitored period, a statistically significant negative slope of the PC was found in all V4 countries, with the highest intensity in the Czech Republic and the lowest in Hungary. The extrapolation of the trend of the current development of the phases of the economic cycle indicates the growth of the statistically confirmed negative slope of the PC in the Czech Republic, its return to Slovakia, its origin in Hungary and the return of positive inclination in Poland.

The study presents a methodology which can be employed by a wide array of stakeholders in the urban real estate market: policymakers, developers, investors as well as individuals. The methodology is widely applicable globally, and various economic variables can be appropriately linked to its results in order to make the economic implications of the length of permitting processes more transparent and promote affordable housing development and sustainable urban development. Across a unique primary dataset of 189 development projects in Prague, we find significant differences in the time required to obtain permits and to undertake construction work for buildings of different functional types. We attribute these differences primarily to public resistance to certain types of development. Our research also quantifies the percentage increase in construction prices that results from delays in the pre-construction process. We find that residential and mixed-use developments face significantly longer permitting processes than industrial development. This is a surprising finding, as these functions generally don’t give rise to as many externalities, necessitating stricter regulation. In addition, we also find that central locations face longer delays and greater price increases.