The Czech Economy in the Last Decade: Determinants and Obstacles to Economic Growth

Abstract

Czechia is a small open economy and a member state of the European Union. Several important trends and episodes that have determined economic growth can be identified over the last two decades. This chapter deals with some macroeconomic features like macroeconomic and labour market performance within the business cycle, the Czech National Bank (CNB) exchange rate commitment and interest rate policy, increasing indebtedness and budget deficits, foreign trade and the international investment position. We applied publicly available data from Eurostat, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and CNB databases. The data show that the Czech economy was significantly converging to the average economic level of the European Union. We also identified key turning points in business cycles. Macroeconomic data on economic development of the economy indicate an atypical course of the business cycle between 2020 and 2022, which can be evaluated as different from the one that followed the global financial crisis.

Citation

Stavárek, D. and Tvrdoň, M. (2024), "The Czech Economy in the Last Decade: Determinants and Obstacles to Economic Growth", Stavárek, D. and Tvrdoň, M. (Ed.) Modeling Economic Growth in Contemporary Czechia (Entrepreneurship and Global Economic Growth), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-840-920241001