Polish Studies in Economics – serie

The book investigates empirically mechanisms behind the recent widespread use of employee stock options and share repurchases in corporate financial management. Exploring through econometric models a sample of large U.S. technology corporations in the period between 1997 and 2005, it documents complex links between stock option plans, payout policy and other key financial characteristics of these firms. The models highlight the interplay between the interests of long-term shareholders, optionholders and speculative investors and provide estimates of joint effects of option dynamics and repurchases on stock returns, undervaluation and option plans on payout policy as well as risk taking and revenue growth on payoffs to shareholders and optionholders.

The Economics of International Environmental Cooperation looks at environmental issues calling for international cooperation, such as river management, transboundary air pollution and climate. It analyses methods used to reduce free-riding in protecting the commons and discusses agreements considered successful – such as the Montreal Protocol – and others that are less effective. In the absence of a supranational authority to enforce solutions in the interest of larger regions, voluntary agreements need to be negotiated by independent agents. They should pass not only aggregate cost-benefit tests, but they have to meet additional criteria in order to win the support of those who cooperate. The book analyses different agreements and draws policy conclusions.

Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004 created new challenges and opportunities for its transport service firms operating within the framework of the EU Single Market. This book evaluates the market structure in the Polish road, maritime, rail and air transport sectors and compares them to other EU countries, using both sectorial and firm-level data. Despite infrastructural underinvestment in most transport sectors, Poland enjoys a strong competitive position in supplying international road and rail cargo services, but the modernization of transport infrastructure remains a major challenge.

Volatility derivatives are an important group of financial instruments and their list is much longer than volatility index futures and options. This book reviews methods used for measurement, estimation and forecasting volatility and presents major classes of volatility derivatives and their possible applications in investment strategies and portfolio optimization. Since volatility is not constant, its term structure and the phenomenon of the volatility risk premium are discussed in view of the permanently instable relation between realized and implied volatility. The study proposes a method to use this information in the process of forecasting future values of volatility.

The book discusses optimal fiscal policy for an internationally integrating economy when public borrowing is constrained. Various innovations have been introduced: the agglomeration effect, the fiscal solvency concept, the harmonization of capital income tax base with formula apportionment and transaction tax on financial transactions. Tax structure consists of taxes on labor, capital and consumption, and bonds – the study looks at equilibrium tax rates under international tax competition pressure, and estimates them econometrically. It also offers policy recommendations as a contribution to the discussion about the desired scope of fiscal integration in the European Union.

This book focuses on the nexus between constitutions adopted by post-socialist countries of Europe and Asia after 1989 and economic transition in the region. It takes the perspective of Constitutional Political Economy and argues for the role of constitutions as commitment-enhancing mechanisms for political decision makers in the field of post-socialist economic reforms. For the first time in economic studies of constitutions this book employs the synthetic control method – a novel empirical approach allowing to account for endogeneity and causality issues. The blend of theory (including evolutionary insights) and empirical results allows to formulate recommendations for constitution drafters, emphasizing the role of factual constitutional court independence for successful economic reforms.

This book gathers Polish and foreign scholars to consider diverse aspects of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). It examines key general areas such as the improvement of the position of the negotiating parties in the world economy, in politics and in international organisations. The contributors analyze possible acceleration of non-discriminatory liberalisation negotiations, creation of new international standards or reducing regulatory differences, such as «Investor-state dispute settlement» (ISDS), public health, geographical indications. The contributions focus also on specific issues, such as the impact of TTIP on Polish and EU economy, on merchandise and services trade, energy supply, research and development, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), or on the third parties.

This book assesses the size, structure and evolution of the public-private wage gap in Poland – a country frequently regarded as an example of a successful transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. The author extensively elaborates on the issue of the selection of employment, and reviews the available studies concerning the public-private wage gap in developed and developing countries, with a particular attention to the evolution of methodology. Furthermore, the author examines recent empirical studies on the public-sector wage premium. Contrary to former research, they have provided positive estimates of the average public-sector wage premium, with significant differences in terms of employee characteristics and local labour market conditions.

This book analyses how deeply Finnish and Polish second-home owners are integrated into the community’s economy. It evaluates second homes considered as a dynamically growing constituent of rural landscape in Europe. The author examines what the key drivers of the consumer’s behaviour are, and what the impact of their spending is on the local economy. He utilizes a variety of analytical methods, i.e. classification trees, cluster analysis, regression models, Engel curves and statistical tests. His analysis is nested in microeconomic and consumer theories, tourism and rural studies. The research findings lead to the general conclusion on the consumption convergence that despite contrasting cultural, social and economic backgrounds as well as clear differences in the second home functioning, Finnish and Polish second-home owners are similar to a large extent, in terms of consumer behaviour.«The monograph is well positioned at the outset with respect to rural social and economic change. This is a solid piece of research that significantly furthers the understanding of economic linkage of second homes in Poland and Finland, and should be valued for its potential contributions to policy and regional development.»«Professor C. Michael Hall, University of Canterbury»«The book comprises a thorough investigation of the economic relationship between second homes and rural areas at the local level. The study, for the first time, provides a detailed analysis of informal purchasing in the context of second homes. This significant finding should be taken seriously by rural developers and policy makers in both countries.»«PhD, Kati Pitkänen, Finnish Environmental Institute»«This work is very useful in empirical, descriptive, analytical, methodological and practical terms. The monograph provides comprehensive and detailed characteristics of the widespread second-home phenomenon in two European countries as well as the assessment of its impact on the local, mostly rural, economy.»«Professor Jerzy Wilkin, Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development, Polish Academy of Sciences»

This book shows what kind of theoretical and methodological bases should pertain to contemporary job analysis. The authors describe the European Questionnaire for Job Analysis as a new psychometric and econometric tool to measure the specific job requirements for work efficiency in the particular job positions in a company. Job analysis is primarily an object of interest in work and industrial psychology. However, currently there is an increasing number of interdisciplinary researchers, that is psychologists collaborating with economists, sociologists and other social science representatives, on work position analysis. The attractiveness of such research projects lies both in their theoretical and methodological mutual enrichments of collaborating psychologists and economists as well as in the subsequently increasing work efficiency and job satisfaction of the persons employed on the particular work positions.

This study examines the determinants of current account, export market share and exchange rates. The author identifies key determinants using Bayesian Model Averaging, which allows evaluation of probability that each variable is in fact a determinant of the analysed competitiveness measure. The main implication of the results presented in the study is that increasing international competitiveness is a gradual process that requires institutional and technological changes rather than short-term adjustments in relative prices.

The book evaluates the importance of constitutional rules and property rights for the German economy in 1990–2015. It is an economic historical study embedded in institutional economics with main references to positive constitutional economics and the property rights theory. This interdisciplinary work adopts a theoretical-empirical dimension and a qualitative-quantitative approach. Formal institutions played a fundamental role in Germany’s post-reunification economic changes. They set the legal and institutional framework for the transition process of Eastern Germany and the unification, integration and convergence between the two parts of the country. Although the latter process was not completed, the effects of these formal rules were positive, especially for the former GDR.

This book presents a detailed projection model to estimate future demand for care among older people. Using Poland as a case study, the author examines the impact of population ageing and changes in intergenerational relations on informal care provision. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of the primary factors driving the need for care: health status and living arrangements, with special attention given to the care needs of older persons living alone. The author employs a dynamic analytical approach that combines multi-state modelling and microsimulation with traditional macro-level population projections. As a result, this study provides new data points that can contribute to the development of a well-informed policy for managing care transfers in the future.

Value Added Tax (VAT) is the backbone of the EU Member States‘ tax systems. However, the rules for taxing Intra-Community delivery created opportunities for so called ‘Missing Trader Intra-Community fraud’ (MTIC). Together with the shadow economy, they represent VAT noncompliance, proxied by the so-called ‘VAT gap’. The book explores the case of a severe VAT compliance crisis using the example of Poland. Although it has not experienced a recession after the Financial and Sovereign Debt Crises, the size of its ‘VAT gap’ reached the levels recorded by Greece – the hardest hit EU economy. The authors take a public policy perspective, examining the process of policy response formulation and implementation. They cover responses by the tax administration and legislative actions in the areas of tax, as well as criminal law.

The oft-used phrase ‘Money makes the world go round’ not only highlights the purely economic nature of money but also underscores its significant implications for politics, society, and humanity. It is, therefore, unsurprising that the subject of money is also addressed in religious doctrines. This book aims to present the Catholic Church’s official stance on money, as articulated in the papal social encyclicals. The popes are less concerned with monetary theories or abstract considerations about money, but rather with its use and the resulting consequences for both the community and the individual. Social encyclicals serve as a critical lens to analyze the role of money in contemporary society. Money, in itself, is neither inherently good nor bad; it must assume the status of a means and cannot function as an end in itself.