0000000000185909
AUTHOR
Sandra Jekabsone
THE PRODUCTIVITY AND COMPETITIVENESS PROBLEMS OF LATVIA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE GLOBAL ECONOM
In the article the dynamics of labour productivity in Latvia was analyzed and the factors which have influenced the labour productivity in last 5 years were detected, to compare the productivity in Latvia with EU average. Analysing changes in productivity and labour costs in Latvia from 2013 till 2017, we can see that growth of labour costs exceeds the growth of productivity by more than 2 times in both, tradable sector and total economy. Slow growth in productivity compared with the labour and other production expenses lead to an increase in the price of final goods and services, which negatively corresponds with producers’ competitiveness in both internal and external market. Also, the at…
The Role of Productivity in Increasing Latvian Competitiveness
Productivity is the main key factor for Latvia to increased prosperity, ensuring efficient use of resources. Due to limited availability of resources and the increasing competition in the global markets, it is important for Latvia to support its economic growth through increased productivity.
Evaluation of labor skills in Latvia
Skills are a decisive factor for the country's economic development and social-well-being. The OECD emphasizes that strips can help countries integrate into global markets and specialize in technological advanced industries, and countries need to invest in fields not only to help people enter the labour market and protect from the risk of job losses and low quality of work, but also to increase international competitiveness and economic progress in an interlinked world. The aim of the research is to evaluate the most demanded labour skills in Latvia within the framework of certain groups of professions, as well as trends in the demand changes according to the skills of employees in order to…
STRATEGIC CHOICES FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA AS EU MEMBER STATE
After joining the EU in 2004, came to an end an important phase of the economic development of Latvian, which opened as new opportunities, as new challenges. Accession to the EU can be viewed on the one hand, the transitional period, on the other hand, it can be characterized as the period when Latvia was standing at the new crossroads and was ready for new, fundamental alternatives. Accession of Latvia in the EU contributed to the deepening of economic integration, radically changing the situation, as in financial, as in labor markets. Since 2004 Latvian experienced both, rapid economic growth, with GDP growth exceeded 12% per annum, and a significant recession, when GDP fell by nearly 18%…
Fiscal policy as an instrument for reducing income inequality: case of Latvia
With the help of fiscal policy, government may influence both overall demand and the disposable income of the population, as well as solve social equality challenges in the society by allocating income among different groups of population. Income inequality in Latvia, which is expressed by the Gini index of disposable income, is the third highest in the European Union, so the question about the most effective instruments for reducing income inequality is pressing. Inequality results in reduced efficiency of social capital and economic distribution, worsening of population health indicators, rising social tension, increased crime and rising poverty, which can have a negative impact on long-t…
Public debt sustainability and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: the case of Latvia
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on economic growth. Many countries are trying to stimulate their economies and help their citizens through fiscal policy, which have led to a significant increase in government debt. A significant increase in Latvia's general government debt is also being forecasted. Excessive debt threatens the sustainability of public finances and has a negative impact on the country's economic growth. The aim of this study is to assess the sustainability of general government debt in Latvia, taking into account the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The results of the study show that the increase in Latvia's general government debt as a result of the Covid…
Production and Foreign Trade of Mineral Products in Latvia and Belarus
Latvia and Belarus are small countries with limited scope of natural resources. However, the available mineral resources play important role in production of mineral products for domestic and foreign consumption. Main goal of the paper is to characterize the role of extraction industry in national economy and mineral products trade in two neighboring countries - Latvia and Belarus. To achieve the goal, the role of mining and quarrying industry in Latvia and Belarus was identified; trade of mineral resources in Latvia was analyzed. The main trends in the development of its own mineral resources of the Republic of Belarus were identified, the role of mineral resources in the commodity structu…
Impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the economic development of Ukraine and Latvia
The COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the world has created a number of diverse threats to the development of the countries’ economies, including Ukraine and Latvia. An adequate assessment of these threats is very difficult and, moreover, often has a probabilistic character due to their singularity and novelty. The COVID-19 crisis mainly affected the tertiary sector, in particular companies involved in tourism, international passenger transport, accommodation, catering, entertainment, and cultural events, where demand fell sharply, and jobs fell. They were also followed by a contraction in demand in the manufacturing and transport sectors, which were mainly oriented towards external demand a…
Productivity dynamics and the productivity trap: problems and solutions in Latvia
By analysing changes in productivity and labour costs in Latvia from 2013 till 2017, we can see that growth of labour costs exceeds the growth of productivity by more than 2 times in both, tradable sector and total economy. Slow growth in productivity compared with the labour and other production expenses lead to an increase in the price of final goods and services, which negatively corresponds with producers’ competitiveness in both internal and external market. Furthermore, this leads to a drop-in consumption of domestic production and inefficient production facility usage, resulting in declining economic growth rates. The rapid growth in labour costs is mainly associated with the tight s…
Investments in Latvia
The effective attraction of investments to the national economy is a key factor, which provides favourable conditions to perform structural changes in the national economy, regional development as well as promotes technical progress. Therefore, investments in the public and the private sectors conduce development of the national economy and provide conditions to increase the overall competitiveness of a country. The purpose of research is to evaluate investment processes in Latvia before and after the global financial crisis, revealing investment-related problems. Also, to calculate the level of the desired investment, which would ensure the Latvia’s average GDP growth of 5% per year, accor…