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CERGE-EI Media Highlights for December

7 January, 2022

Soaring energy bills, rising interest rates, and the retirement system in the Czech Republic were among the most frequent topics commented on by CERGE-EI's experts in Czech media. Our Ph.D. student Ketevani Kapanadze, who won first place in the Young Economist 2021 competition, gave an interview concerning her research and plans for roklen24.cz.

On Czech Radio's Pro a proti, Jan Švejnar again criticized Czech National Bank's decision to increase interest rates. As in previous months, he explained that in Czech, we have cost-push inflation. He pointed out that the Bank decided to increase interest rates, while the European Central Bank has decided to wait.

Filip Pertold discussed on the same program government plans to reform Czech’s retirement system. He pointed out that it is not clear how the government intends to cover the reform costs, and it does not include retirement age capping.

A significant media interest spurred the PAQ Research's and think-tank IDEA's analysis. It estimates that the number of Czech households entitled to housing allowance will increase by approximately 200,000 due to rising energy prices. This topic was covered in Seznamzpravy.cz, Czech Radio, aktualne.cz, Hospodářské noviny, Czech Television, DeníkN and others.

Media interest received another think-tank IDEA study titled "Mum or preschool?" by Alena Bičáková, Klára Kalíšková, and Lucie Zapletalová, published in August 2021. Klára spoke on the topic in an interview for Věda a výzkum. "Many women do not have the opportunity to place a child in kindergarten. Therefore, they stay at home longer than they would like."

Ketevani Kapanadze spoke for roklen24.cz about her paper entitled "Lose with Borders, Win with Centers? The Case of the European Integration." Ketevani said that winning the Young Economist 2021 competition is an honor and gives her happiness. "Being a young economist of the year gives me extra motivation to succeed in my academic career."

"I describe the forms of folly and give them erudite names," is the title of an interview with Jakub Steiner for Deník N. He answered questions related to behavioral economics and spoke about his life and experiences.