Slovak News Back to the news
Investment Volume Above EU Average, But Effectiveness Questionable
Tuesday 13 April 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, April 13 (TASR) - The volume of private investment in Slovakia is reported to exceed the EU average by some 5-7 percentage points, with a 25-percent share on Slovakia's GDP compared to an average GDP share of 18 percent in the Union.
However, it's debatable whether these investments bring the desired effects to the national economy, according to an economist Viliam Palenik from the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV).
Palenik said it's questionable if these investments are effective enough to boost the living standards of Slovaks in the future. "It seems that they only slightly influence economic growth, which should be higher in the presence of such massive investment volumes," said the economist.
He thinks that this may be caused by the nature of the foreign capital – mainly largescale investments – flowing in, but also by business conditions in Slovakia. "The private sphere here doesn't work upon strict economic criteria," said Palenik. In his opinion, the most serious problem which contributes to diluting the effectiveness of investment here is corruption.
As for the fact that quite a number of investments in Slovakia are of a long-term nature, Palenik says this is no coincidence. "It's become a main trait of the economy," he assumes.
All rights reserved. Any publishing or further dissemination of press releases and photographs from TASR's resources without TASR's prior written approval constitutes a violation of the Copyrights Act.
