C43 - Index Numbers and Aggregation; Leading indicatorsReturn

Composite indicators as a tool for a ranking become more and more popular, because they illustrate a comprehensive view on a phenomenon that cannot be captured by only one single indicator. Indicators for Europe 2020 are set of indicators used for monitoring targets defined by the European Commission in the Strategy of Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. The main objective of this paper is the comparison of performance of the EU Member States using the composite indicator principles. Within constructing composite indicators several steps have to be made and corresponding methods have to be chosen. There is not only one correct method how to develop a composite indicator. Of course, the choice of the methods manipulates the results. Primarily, normalisation methods, weighting schemes and aggregation formulas are fundamental but very subjective. This paper deals with two types of normalisation (z-score and min-max) and four weighting and aggregation schemes (equal weighting with linear aggregation, principal components analysis, benefit of doubt method and multi-criteria analysis). European countries ranking is provided according to the seven different scenarios.

This article sets out to describe and discuss the methodology of selected financial soundness and financial stability indicators, including the attempts to construct an aggregate financial stability indicator. The first part is devoted to discussion of Financial Stability Indicators by the International Monetary Fund and presents also the values of the IMF's core Financial Soundness Indicators for the Czech Republic and other selected countries, using the data from the 2005 pilot study. This part partly covers also other existing approaches to definition and collection of partial financial soundness indicators, such as the indicators regularly assessed by the European Central Bank. In the second part, the article reviews existing approaches to construct an aggregate financial stability indicator. These include alternative approaches using balance sheet and profit and loss data, as well as financial market and regulatory agencies' data. The last part constructs a preliminary composite indicator for the stability of the Czech banking system and discusses its development over time.

This article aims at revealing the effectiveness of Turkish monetary policy in controlling inflation rate and the stability of exchange rate using the rational expectation framework that incorporates the fiscal role of exchange rate. Based on quarterly data covering the period between 1983: Q4 and 2003: Q4, the analysis affirms that the effort of the Turkish monetary policy at influencing the finance of government fiscal deficit through the determination of the inflation-tax rate, to some extent, affects both the rate of inflation and the real exchange rate, thereby causing volatility in their rates. Moderate evidence emerges that inflation affects volatility of its own rate as well as the rate of real exchange.

The article is concerned with voting power indicators in the European Union and one paradox arising from them. The first chapter defines voting power indicators exactly. The second chapter defines the paradox of new members and introduces some examples. The third chapter specifies data - voting power indicators in the EU. The fourth chapter computes differences between old and new voting power indicators. The fifth chapter summarizes the frequency of the paradox of new members in total. The sixth chapter brings a conclusion.