FIR success: three new projects of the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic

Researchers from the Department of International Economic Relations and the Department of International and Diplomatic Studies at the Faculty of International Relations of the Prague University of Economics and Business will be working on three new standard projects supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (GA CR). Congratulations on your extraordinary success in the field of science and research!

The Department of International Economic Relations will be working on projects under the supervision of two foreign researchers, Dr. Zeynalov and Dr. Pantey. The Department of International and Diplomatic Studies will be working on a project led by Dr. Dubský.

Reducing the risk of corporate bankruptcy: The role of the discipline effect

Ayaz Zeynalov, M.A., Ph.D. will be the principal investigator of the project “Reducing the risk of corporate bankruptcy: the role of the discipline effect” (in collaboration with Prof. Mehmet Ugur from the University of Greenwich).

Abstract: „Weathering Corporate Bankruptcy: The Role of Discipline Effect: This research project aims to address this oversight by drawing on agency theory, which demonstrates that the causal effects of leverage and competition on corporate bankruptcy are due to the extent to which they mitigate or exacerbate agency conflicts.“

Digitisation of the public sector: Implications for growth and innovation in domestic IT sectors

Smaranda Pantea, Ph.D. will lead the project “Digitization of the public sector: implications for growth and innovation in domestic IT sectors.” The team will be completed by Ms. Nadzeya Laurentsyeva (LMU), Ph.D., Ing. Cristina Procházková Ilinitchi, Ph.D. (Department of International Economic Relations, VŠE), Ph.D., Ayaz Zeynalov, Ph.D. (Department of International Economic Relations, VŠE).

Abstract: „This project proposes three related studies on the effects of the digitalization of public administration on the development of the domestic IT sectors in the EU, with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The first study estimates the effect of the demand from the public sector on the development of national IT sectors in the EU, using sector-level data on the size and innovation of IT sectors from Eurostat and aggregate indicators on public procurement for software and IT services from Tender Electronics Daily (TED) and two-way fixed effects methods. The second study estimates firm-level effects of winning IT-related tenders on firm growth in the Czech Republic using tender-level data from the TED dataset and national sources, firm-level data from Amadeus, and regression discontinuity design methods. The third study estimates the effects of winning public tenders on firm growth and innovation in 10 CEE countries using propensity score matching and difference-in-difference methods and firm-level data from TED and Amadeus, complemented with project-level data from GitHub.“

Decarbonisation of the Czech energy sector in the light of the new EU energy geopolitics (with a focus on gas dependence)

Ing. Zbyněk Dubský, Ph.D. will lead the project “Decarbonization of the Czech energy sector through the prism of the new EU energy geopolitics (with a focus on gas dependence).” On behalf of the University of Economics, doc. Štěpánka Zemanová (Department of International and Diplomatic Studies) and dr. Lenka Kovačovská (Department of International and Diplomatic Studies).

Abstract: “The project focuses on the intersection of security paradigms with energy policy through the development of scenarios focusing on the EU’s relations with EU suppliers (in particular the Russian Federation) and major transit countries. In terms of theoretical contributions, the project is based on the concept of new energy geopolitics that overcomes the rationalist approach to energy transition by engaging critical geopolitics and recognizing the crucial importance of discourse. The aim of the project is to provide scenarios for the transformation of the Czech energy market during the decarbonization process, taking into account the role of discourse shaped by the new energy geopolitics.”

Ayaz Zeynalov, M.A., Ph.D.

has been an assistant professor at the Department of International Economic Relations since January 2021, prior to which he worked at the Jan Masaryk Centre for International Studies. He received his Master’s degree from Qafqaz University in Baku and CERGE-EI. He received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in 2017. In 2020, he was a member of the research team of the TAČR project titled Oil Price Decline: Research on Impacts on Producing Countries in the EU Neighbourhood.

Smaranda Pantea, Ph.D.

is a researcher and assistant professor in the department since 2019. She received her PhD from the University of Nottingham, UK; her dissertation topic was technology transfer, productivity, and employment. She holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Porto, Portugal. She has previously worked at the Ministry of Finance of Romania and at the European Commission (DG GROW). She teaches courses in International Economics and also focuses on quantitative methods and econometrics.

Ing. Zbyněk Dubský, Ph.D.

is an assistant professor at the Department of International and Diplomatic Studies. He focuses on the problem of power distribution in the international system, specifically on energy security and international relations, security relations with an emphasis on the European area, the development of the EU common security and defense policy, and current problems of the development of the European integration process. These topics are the dominant focus of his publications. Since 2021, he has been the co-principal investigator of the GAČR grant Energy Discourse of the European Commission and the European Parliament and its impact on the Member States.