Jiri Vecernik - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Jiri Vecernik
Le Courrier des pays de l'Est
Czech Sociological Review
The article describes the development of Czech social policy and the issues that have surrounded ... more The article describes the development of Czech social policy and the issues that have surrounded it since 1989. The author begins by describing the character of the communist welfare state and outlining its theoretical alternatives. Despite the introduction of energetic changes during the early years of transition, since the mid-1990s the area of social policy has been dominated by stagnation, and instead of any real and specific efforts in this area there are only debates. Despite all the problems that plague the current social policy, at present the system performs satisfactorily, as is evident in the very low rate of poverty. However, in the long run, concerns may arise over inadequate family situations, a frozen pension system, and poor work motivation. The 'reform' year of 2005 has seen the emergence of many different efforts relating to social policy, but it has not heralded any substantial changes aimed at a more efficient functioning of the system.
Czech Sociological Review
In the contribution, we have compiled a comprehensive (but probably not exhaustive) overview of t... more In the contribution, we have compiled a comprehensive (but probably not exhaustive) overview of the main undertakings that are in some way oriented towards social reporting. In individual sections, the production of the following institutions and/or in the following areas is described: 1) statistical office, 2) government and governmental bodies, 3) international organisations, 4) commissioned and comparative research, 5) academic and research institutions, 6) the project 'Social Trends', 7) the Social Report of the Czech Republic. While the academic and applied social research is somewhat atomised in space and discontinuous in time, the current Czech government seems to be more committed to endeavour to synthesise reporting and/or forecasting. Activities related to the EU accession may also be supportive for better social information. Together with surveys already collected in the 'Sociological Data Archive', there is certainly enough data to be summarised and analysed. However, only one social report, strictly speaking, has been released so far and the related focused activity in this direction was terminated soon after.
Czech Sociological Review
Czech Sociological Review
The conventional optics of social stratification research-in which the social position of the fam... more 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-have been challenged since the early 1970s. Similarly, economic research which views the household as a single unit has been questioned. Changing family circumstances and the increased share of couples in which the woman has higher earnings, education, and socioeconomic status mean that both these perspectives needs reformulating. The authors illustrate these issues using the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey (EU-SILC) for five Central European countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Austria) and draw on its 2006-2016 time series to present the characteristics of partners in couples and the relations between them. Female primacy has increased either in earnings, education, or socioeconomic category in all countries except Hungary. The authors use the EU-SILC 2010 'Module on Intra-household Sharing of Resources' to test the hypothesis that a direct link exists between partners' social status split and separate welfare status, where female primacy in relevant characteristics is taken as a proxy for social status split, while separate welfare status is indicated by partners' budgetary discretion. The hypothesis is confirmed for Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, but not for Hungary and Poland. Apart from the personal factors of social status split, two family factors are strongly related to the probability of the budgetary discretion of couple partners across all countries: household income and marital status.
Politicka Ekonomie, 2012
ABSTRACT There is a growing effort to find alternative measures of the overall performance of eco... more ABSTRACT There is a growing effort to find alternative measures of the overall performance of economy and social development. More complex indicators are constructed, multi-dimensional approaches are searched and concepts of subjective well-being are increasingly applied. While academic research is booming and politicians are interested about innovative approach in the West, not much attention is given to the topic in the Czech Republic. The article drafts some of many problems appearing on the interface of the objective and subjective indicators. In the first section, some multi-dimensional approaches are tackled and in the second, concepts of happiness and satisfaction are overviewed. The relationship between economic growth and human happiness is described next. In the fourth section, survey data on reported happiness in the Czech Republic, ready for analysis and comparison, are described. In the conclusion, perspectives of research in the area are outlined, together with a possible use of subjective indictors in policies.
Le Courrier Des Pays De L Est, Sep 1, 2005
Politicka Ekonomie, May 12, 2014
ABSTRACT The article documents the development of life satisfaction in four transitional Central ... more ABSTRACT The article documents the development of life satisfaction in four transitional Central European countries since 1991, in comparison with Germany and Austria. After presentation of data sources and the overview of the literature regarding the effect of transition on life satisfaction, surveys of European Values Study 1991, 1999 and 2008 are analysed together with macroeconomic data. First, satisfaction levels are correlated with GDP and then, individual characteristics of income, gender, education and family status are regressed to as explanatory variables of life satisfaction. While the explanatory power of GDP is found as very weak for the entire period, the effect of objective characteristics has peaked in 1999 and the effect of subjective perceptions in 2008. The survey information on trends after 2008 differs but no dramatic change of the life satisfaction due to the economic recession has so far appeared.
Autor dûkuje ãlence Bankovní rady âNB Michaele Erbenové za cenné pfiipomínky pouÏité k dopracován... more Autor dûkuje ãlence Bankovní rady âNB Michaele Erbenové za cenné pfiipomínky pouÏité k dopracování tohoto textu. Zpracování této studie bylo podpofieno v˘zkumn˘m grantem MPSV, vefiejná zakázka ZVZ 42 "Zpracování mikrosimulaãního modelu daní a sociálních dávek pro posouzení vlivu agregátních zmûn v pfiíjmech, a zejména pak sociální a daÀové politiky na v˘‰i pfiíjmÛ v jednotliv˘ch typech domácností a na koneãné rozdûlení pfiíjmÛ v âeské republice".
Le Courrier des pays de l'Est
Czech Sociological Review
The article describes the development of Czech social policy and the issues that have surrounded ... more The article describes the development of Czech social policy and the issues that have surrounded it since 1989. The author begins by describing the character of the communist welfare state and outlining its theoretical alternatives. Despite the introduction of energetic changes during the early years of transition, since the mid-1990s the area of social policy has been dominated by stagnation, and instead of any real and specific efforts in this area there are only debates. Despite all the problems that plague the current social policy, at present the system performs satisfactorily, as is evident in the very low rate of poverty. However, in the long run, concerns may arise over inadequate family situations, a frozen pension system, and poor work motivation. The 'reform' year of 2005 has seen the emergence of many different efforts relating to social policy, but it has not heralded any substantial changes aimed at a more efficient functioning of the system.
Czech Sociological Review
In the contribution, we have compiled a comprehensive (but probably not exhaustive) overview of t... more In the contribution, we have compiled a comprehensive (but probably not exhaustive) overview of the main undertakings that are in some way oriented towards social reporting. In individual sections, the production of the following institutions and/or in the following areas is described: 1) statistical office, 2) government and governmental bodies, 3) international organisations, 4) commissioned and comparative research, 5) academic and research institutions, 6) the project 'Social Trends', 7) the Social Report of the Czech Republic. While the academic and applied social research is somewhat atomised in space and discontinuous in time, the current Czech government seems to be more committed to endeavour to synthesise reporting and/or forecasting. Activities related to the EU accession may also be supportive for better social information. Together with surveys already collected in the 'Sociological Data Archive', there is certainly enough data to be summarised and analysed. However, only one social report, strictly speaking, has been released so far and the related focused activity in this direction was terminated soon after.
Czech Sociological Review
Czech Sociological Review
The conventional optics of social stratification research-in which the social position of the fam... more 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-have been challenged since the early 1970s. Similarly, economic research which views the household as a single unit has been questioned. Changing family circumstances and the increased share of couples in which the woman has higher earnings, education, and socioeconomic status mean that both these perspectives needs reformulating. The authors illustrate these issues using the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey (EU-SILC) for five Central European countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Austria) and draw on its 2006-2016 time series to present the characteristics of partners in couples and the relations between them. Female primacy has increased either in earnings, education, or socioeconomic category in all countries except Hungary. The authors use the EU-SILC 2010 'Module on Intra-household Sharing of Resources' to test the hypothesis that a direct link exists between partners' social status split and separate welfare status, where female primacy in relevant characteristics is taken as a proxy for social status split, while separate welfare status is indicated by partners' budgetary discretion. The hypothesis is confirmed for Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, but not for Hungary and Poland. Apart from the personal factors of social status split, two family factors are strongly related to the probability of the budgetary discretion of couple partners across all countries: household income and marital status.
Politicka Ekonomie, 2012
ABSTRACT There is a growing effort to find alternative measures of the overall performance of eco... more ABSTRACT There is a growing effort to find alternative measures of the overall performance of economy and social development. More complex indicators are constructed, multi-dimensional approaches are searched and concepts of subjective well-being are increasingly applied. While academic research is booming and politicians are interested about innovative approach in the West, not much attention is given to the topic in the Czech Republic. The article drafts some of many problems appearing on the interface of the objective and subjective indicators. In the first section, some multi-dimensional approaches are tackled and in the second, concepts of happiness and satisfaction are overviewed. The relationship between economic growth and human happiness is described next. In the fourth section, survey data on reported happiness in the Czech Republic, ready for analysis and comparison, are described. In the conclusion, perspectives of research in the area are outlined, together with a possible use of subjective indictors in policies.
Le Courrier Des Pays De L Est, Sep 1, 2005
Politicka Ekonomie, May 12, 2014
ABSTRACT The article documents the development of life satisfaction in four transitional Central ... more ABSTRACT The article documents the development of life satisfaction in four transitional Central European countries since 1991, in comparison with Germany and Austria. After presentation of data sources and the overview of the literature regarding the effect of transition on life satisfaction, surveys of European Values Study 1991, 1999 and 2008 are analysed together with macroeconomic data. First, satisfaction levels are correlated with GDP and then, individual characteristics of income, gender, education and family status are regressed to as explanatory variables of life satisfaction. While the explanatory power of GDP is found as very weak for the entire period, the effect of objective characteristics has peaked in 1999 and the effect of subjective perceptions in 2008. The survey information on trends after 2008 differs but no dramatic change of the life satisfaction due to the economic recession has so far appeared.
Autor dûkuje ãlence Bankovní rady âNB Michaele Erbenové za cenné pfiipomínky pouÏité k dopracován... more Autor dûkuje ãlence Bankovní rady âNB Michaele Erbenové za cenné pfiipomínky pouÏité k dopracování tohoto textu. Zpracování této studie bylo podpofieno v˘zkumn˘m grantem MPSV, vefiejná zakázka ZVZ 42 "Zpracování mikrosimulaãního modelu daní a sociálních dávek pro posouzení vlivu agregátních zmûn v pfiíjmech, a zejména pak sociální a daÀové politiky na v˘‰i pfiíjmÛ v jednotliv˘ch typech domácností a na koneãné rozdûlení pfiíjmÛ v âeské republice".