Methods for Indexing the Income of the Population with an Increase in Consumer Prices

The article deals with the formation of money income of the population, changes in the formation of consumer goods and needs for them, including under the influence of pricing, the structural volumes of goods offered for sale with different consumer properties and values. The problem of dynamics and the level of growth in prices for consumer goods is considered from the standpoint of disclosing the relationship between the emerging incomes of the population, inflation, methods of indexation and compensatory regulation. The formation of the incomes of the population of Russia is characterized not only by an insufficiency in relation to existing needs, but also by many contradictions that restrain their correspondence with the goals of improving welfare. At the same time, the need to identify the changes in trends and patterns taking place in the economy and social practice becomes a condition for the possible improvement of the tasks being solved not only in increasing the income of the population, but also in regulating them in consumption and efficiency of use. In practice and in research results, the lack of a systematic nature of the tasks being solved is recorded (generalized) both in price regulation and in the indexation of income in guaranteed rates corresponding to the dynamics of real inflation indicators, its level positions, which are taken into account not only in the emerging wages in monetary form, but also in various benefits that are paid by the state. The solution of these problems requires further detailed scientific research of the processes actually occurring in economic practice with the use of methods for indexing the income of the population with an increase in consumer prices. The supply of consumer goods on the market, which does not have a profitable orientation towards their purchases, in our opinion, will always exacerbate the problem of choosing methods of price regulation, both on the part of the state and commodity producers.

Income Inequality in Regions of the Slovak Republic

The problem of inequality has become increasingly important in recent years, increasing its weight in addressing the problems of economic and regional development lagging behind. Although income inequality in Slovakia is among the lowest in Europe, there are regions in Slovakia where income inequality is high. The aim of the paper is to contribute to the expansion of knowledge in the area of income inequality in self-governing regions in the Slovak Republic. In the paper we examine the causes of inequalities, measure the levels of inequality over the selected time period based on the development of indicators of net money income and household expenditures, average disposable equivalent household income of indicators S80 / S20, Gini coefficient and poverty risk ratio for 2014-2018.

Consumption of food in relation to income and saturation limit of Slovak households

Food represents everyday need and from this point of view is stable and computable demand on the consumer market. Based on the current development of households’ net money income and consumption expenditures, the aim of the paper is to point at the development of food consumption and changes in the cost of living of the population in Slovakia. Previous food consumption analyses proved that eating habits of the Slovak population comply neither with healthy lifestyle nor recommended doses, due to the low level of disposable net money income. In the analysis, linear and nonlinear functions were used in order to evaluate the development and saturation of demand for basic foods in Slovakia in the period 2008–2017. During these years, the share of expenditures on food and non-alcoholic beverages did not significantly change the consumption expenditures; they moved in intervals from 19.2% (2017) to 23.1% (2013), which is still a high share in comparison with EU countries (12.2%). The analysis provided in the paper is a suitable base for food businesses to create a product portfolio based on different net money income and saturation demand for basic foods.

Marx’s Theory of Money: A Reappraisal in the Light of Unconventional Monetary Policy

This paper analyzes key aspects of Marx’s theory of money in order to reassert its continued relevance for understanding monetary developments in contemporary capitalism. Unlike theorists who become preoccupied with particular functions and forms of money, Marx develops a comprehensive concept of money integrating its various functions and emphasizing the socio-economic basis of its existence. Money performs different functions including a measure of value, a means of purchase/exchange, a means of payment, and a means of hoarding, which are independent of money’s concrete forms. The functions of money as a means of purchase and means of payment relate to each other as money (income) and credit (money), which are fundamentally different. The quantity and availability of credit (money) may be influenced by the activities of the central bank and the private banking system. Credit (money), however, can only become money (income) if and when it enters the domain of social production as an embodiment of the value of social labor and social purchasing power. This inextricable link between money and social production sets natural limits to the ability of monetary policy to influence both monetary and non-monetary developments in contemporary capitalism. An analysis grounded in Marx’s theory of money can provide insights into a range of contemporary monetary phenomena including hoarding, the rush to liquidity during financial crises, the scramble for government debt as a source of ultimate liquidity, and the limits to conventional and unconventional monetary policy. JEL Classification: E4, E5, B51, E6