Slovak Republic

OECD’s periodic surveys of the Slovak economy. Each edition surveys the major challenges faced by the country, evaluates the short-term outlook, and makes specific policy recommendations. Special chapters take a more detailed look at specific challenges. Extensive statistical information is included in charts and graphs.

Études économiques consacrées périodiquement par l'OCDE à l’économie de la République slovaque. Chaque étude analyse les grands enjeux auxquels le pays fait face. Elle examine les perspectives à court terme et présente des recommandations détaillées à l’intention des décideurs politiques. Des chapitres thématiques analysent des enjeux spécifiques. Les tableaux et graphiques contiennent un large éventail de données statistiques.

This chapter includes data on the income taxes paid by workers, their social security contributions, the family benefits they receive in the form of cash transfers as well as the social security contributions and payroll taxes paid by their employers. Results reported include the marginal and average tax burden for eight different family types.Methodological information is available for personal income tax systems, compulsory social security contributions to schemes operated within the government sector, universal cash transfers as well as recent changes in the tax/benefit system. The methodology also includes the parameter values and tax equations underlying the data.

This report provides insights on applying behavioural insights to improve public integrity in the public administration of the Slovak Republic. This report illustrates, through a stepwise application of the OECD BASIC toolkit, how corruption risk management policies can be improved through the identification and analysis of undesired behaviours, and through the design and testing of strategies to change these behaviours. Specifically, a randomised controlled trial was employed to test the effect of two behaviourally informed strategies to improve risk communication in the public administration. The results provided novel empirical evidence that: 1) providing support to public servants to better understand risks; and 2) exposing public servants to good leadership examples can improve their propensity to communicate risks. Moreover, it was found that feeling safe, trusting and being aware of risk communication channels also play an important role in improving risk communication. Based on the findings, this report provides recommendations to improve the risk management system of the Slovak Republic and inform the discussion on the upcoming National Anti-corruption Strategy, contributing to advancing the country’s efforts in curbing corruption.

Two behaviourally informed strategies were designed to increase risk communication. The effects of these two strategies were tested in an online randomised controlled trial (RCT). In addition, the relationships between the likelihood of communicating a risk and several secondary outcome variables, such as psychological safety, knowledge on the reporting channels and trust, were also explored. The results indicate that exposing employees to examples of exemplary leadership and social norms can increase the likelihood of communicating a corruption risk. Feeling generally safe when communicating about risks, having hiring responsibility, and having trust and knowledge of reporting channels also play an important role in improving risk communication.

Insights from behavioural science are increasingly making their way into integrity policymaking. A behavioural approach acknowledges that behind the policies, laws, regulations, and tools there are human beings making decisions. Sometimes, these decisions are not aligned with what policies aim to achieve, undermining their effectiveness and impact.

An effective risk management system is dependent on the behaviours of several stakeholders and public servants’ commitment. To improve corruption risk management in the Slovak public sector, the OECD identified the behaviours that hinder an effective corruption risk management and analysed the barriers and enablers of these behaviours in a diagnostic analysis, following the application of the OECD BASIC framework. The key behaviour identified in a diagnostic analysis was that employees are not communicating about potential corruption risks as often as they should. Reasons for limited risk communication include a lack of support from leaders, a lack of feeling of safety when communicating about risks and a lack of awareness of how to communicate risks.