Real exchange rate:: The search for an equilibrium

The first article summarizes the main topics discussed at the seminar on "The Real Exchange Rate: The Search for an Equilibrium" organized by the Czech Economic Society in November 1998. Participants focused on such questions as: What factors determine the long-term behavior of the exchange rate? Does the concept of a real exchange rate make sense at all? And if so, which of the various estimates is more "real"? In the second article the author summarizes key points discussed at the Czech Economic Society's seminar on "The Theory and Empirics of Minimum Wage" held in December 1998, Participants suggested, first, that the current setting of the minimum wage in the Czech Republic has no economic meaning, and, second, that directed experiments would help us understand the potential effects of the minimum wage and other labor market policies on the Czech economy.