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CERGE-EI Media Highlights for August

2 September, 2020

Teachers' and politicians' salaries, the abolition of the "super-gross wage", government interventions against the economic crisis, and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on mental health were all topics commented on by our researchers for Czech media during August. A regularly updated list of the media outcomes of CERGE-EI and IDEA experts is available here.

In an interview with Seznam Zprávy, Filip Pertold commented on the proposal of the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs (ČSSD) Jana Maláčová to reduce politicians' salaries. "Our research at the municipal level has shown that higher salaries can help voters have a wider choice, i.e. that there are more candidates for one position in the municipal council," Filip recalled the results of a study he worked on with Ján Palguta. Filip spoke about the very same topic for the CNN Prima News website.

Asked about his view on the effort of the Czech government to alleviate the impending economic crisis, Filip Matějka was not very optimistic. "In the beginning, I think that the direction was quite good, but lately I have to say that it is more and more chaotic," said Filip in an interview for Czech Radio. He also evaluated the actions of the government and the European Union in an interview for Právo daily newspaper. Filip was also among the guests of the highly-followed TV debate Otázky Václava Moravce, where he discussed the current economic situation with the governor of the Czech National Bank Jiří Rusnok and the Chair of the Commission for Equal Pensions Danuše Nerudová.

A study from the IDEA anti COVID-19 project on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on mental health attracted the attention of Czech Television, ČTK and Hospodářské noviny. The authors of the study, Vojtěch Bartoš, Jana Cahlíková, Michal Bauer and Julie Chytilová, found that there were growing numbers of people experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety during the coronavirus lockdown. The situation affected women, young people, and people with a loss of income the most.

Vilém Semerák, who focuses on the Chinese economy in his research, evaluated the possible impact of the Czech Senate speaker Miloš Vystrčil's controversial trip to Taiwan on Czech-Chinese trade relations. He was quoted, for example, by the idnes.cz website and interviewed on the same topic by Respekt magazine.

Jan Švejnar was a guest on the TV debate program Otázky Václava Moravce, where he assessed the development of the economic situation in the Czech Republic. Jan also commented on Czech-American business relations for Czech Television during the US Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo’s visit to the Czech Republic.

Czech Radio interviewed Daniel Münich on various topics such as the taxation of super-gross wage, extra money for pensioners, and teachers' salaries.

A regularly updated list of the media outcomes of CERGE-EI and IDEA experts is available here.