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Formation of national position on Wine Reform within Common Agricultural Policy: a case of the concept of Multi-level governance? (example of France)
Svačinová, Tereza ; Rovná, Lenka (advisor) ; Šlosarčík, Ivo (referee) ; Lacina, Lubor (referee)
This thesis examines the applicability of the theoretical concept of Multilevel governance through a case study of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy, more specifically a case study of the reform of the Common Market Organisation for Wine. The study focuses on the creation of the French national position regarding this reform. The primary aim is to determine whether the behaviour of the actors involved in the negotiation process corresponds conforms to the principles of the MLG concept. A secondary aim of the study is to identify the national particularities that could have an impact on certain aspects of the MLG concept. Since several of these aspects have not been proved in France because of the strong influence of national particularities, supplementary research has been done in the Czech Republic. In this country also, some aspects of the MLG concept were not applied. The thesis reaches the conclusion that the concept of MLG is applicable in the case of the negotiation process for the reform of the CMO for Wine even though some principles of MLG were not confirmed. This lack of applicability was caused by the influence of certain particularities of the country which are not engaged in the theoretical framework of the MLG concept. It is recommended that the possible influence of national...
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NEW TOOLS OF RESEARCH GOVERNANCE: Cases of research policy implementation in the Czech Republic, Sweden and the European Union
Young, Mitchell ; Rovná, Lenka (advisor) ; Šlosarčík, Ivo (referee) ; Lacina, Lubor (referee)
Research policy has become increasingly important for policymakers in Europe as it is considered to be a driving force behind the global knowledge-based economy. An array of new tools for the evaluation and funding of research have been implemented both by the European Union and its Member States; particularly distinctive are those that have been developed in the Czech Republic and Sweden. This dissertation, through four cases studies, investigates why these tools have appeared and what effects they have on the practice of research. Using a conceptual framework of public administration ideal-type narratives, the dissertation shows that these new tools can be considered as New Public Management type reforms. Further, the dissertation creates a theoretical model in which institutional theories are operationalized and used to reveal the politics behind the policy tools and the way that they affect individual behavior in the academic environment. The results demonstrate that strong influences are exerted by the rational choice logics embedded in New Public Management tools, which do distort the practice of research, yet these influences are also tempered by other historically and normatively-based logics within the complex system of research in higher education institutions. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
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Perceived Inflation - The New Phenomenon After The Euro Changeover
Smrčková, Gabriela ; Šaroch, Stanislav (advisor) ; Arlt, Josef (referee) ; Lacina, Lubor (referee) ; Čech, Zdeněk (referee)
The thesis focuses on theoretical and empirical analysis of the deterioration of price perception among European consumers after the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins. The aim of the thesis is to find out the major factors which provoked a rapid increase of the indicator of perceived inflation after 2002, while inflation in euro zone continued developing moderately, and to derive some conclusions for economic policy of candidate countries to euro introduction. There are at least four reasons why it matters to analyse the distortion of the indicator of perceived inflation from the HICP index which measures the inflation in the euro zone. Firstly, from the political and economical perspective there is a risk of weak support for the European monetary integration. Secondly, the distortion of price perception can deteriorate the belief in the official statistics. Thirdly, the inaccurate price perception can lead to wrong consumer decisions having an impact on a volume or a structure of national consumption. Last but not least, there is a risk of a negative impact on price expectations. In order to meet its goals, the thesis stases several hypotheses which analyse the problem from two perspectives. Firstly, from a mere review of detailed prices in the period of the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins (Hypotheses: (i) the consumers are more sensitive towards some price movements, therefore the deterioration of the indicator of perceived inflation can be explained by the abnormal evolution of some prices in the critical period of the euro introduction, (ii) convergence of the new euro prices towards round prices lead to frequent price movements having an impact on price perception) Secondly, from the point of view of limited perception of prices by consumers (Hypothesis: (iii) consumers does not behave rationally when deciding about prices therefore they are not able to perceive all price movements). The thesis is organized in three chapters. The first chapter is mainly theoretical and introduces the problem of perceived inflation. It is followed by two chapters which combine empirical and theoretical analysis of the drivers of perceived inflation after the euro introduction. Within its conclusions, the thesis identifies a combination of several factors that caused a rapid increase of the indicator of perceived inflation after the changeover which have their origins in a changed monetary environment. The effects coming from using rounded conversion rates instead of the official ones in mental conversions of the new euro prices to the old prices in national currencies, limited the possibility for consumers to perceive correctly the price movements. Moreover, higher sensitivity towards price increases in comparison to price decreases and a higher inflation in some areas led to blaming the new currency for high inflation. The irrational behaviour of consumers in relation to prices was strengthened by the effects of the new currency. The thesis also states that while the increase of the indicator of perceived inflation had no negative impact on inflation expectations, the deterioration of inflation perception might negatively influence consumption.
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