While developing countries move towards the welfare state, European countries need to redesign their welfare model. European states have become so big they are now unwieldy. Basic safety nets have been stretched to unexpected sizes and because the state supports everything that “people deserve”, it’s getting harder and harder to […]

With scary news about the “financial crisis shaking the world!” making the headlines every second day, you can easily end up blaming the godawful traders for every single bit of wrong-doing. Or Greece. As time goes by, I more and more have the impression that everyone around is turning into […]

By definition, healthcare plays an important role in any country’s economy, along with the food industry and many other sectors. One of the differences, though, is that, depending on the patient’s health state, it could become very expensive. This makes it the natural province for insurance companies. In Slovakia health […]

One of the first effects of the crisis on Slovakia – one of the most open, export dependent economies in Europe  – was felt when the country’s rich customers started importing fewer Slovak goods. Similar problems have started to occur again recently, with the slowdown in China, a major destination […]

Like most of the developed world, Slovakia also faces the problem of an aging population. With ever more elderly people and fewer children, the state pension system requires the raising of the age of retirement age which, in turn, means that fewer jobs are around for young people. Yet Slovakia […]