Position: External
Field of interest: Pension systems; health and wellbeing, labour productivity
Membership: Macroeconomics and Econometrics, PhD Candidates
Contact
Office: -
Email: Stepanek [DOT] Martin [AT] hotmail [DOT] com
Phone: -
Available: Upon request (by email/phone/Skype only)
More information
PhD study
Tutor: PhDr. Jaromír Baxa Ph.D.
Studying from: 2016
PhDr examination:
Final exam: 05/2019
Dissertation Proposal defence: October 2019
Dissertation defence: February 2020
Current work:
ARTICLES IN JOURNALS WITH IMPACT FACTOR
Stepanek, M., Jahanshahi, K., and Millard, F. (2019). Individual, workplace and combined effects modeling of workplace productivity loss. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 61(6): 469–478
Stepanek, M. (2019). Pension reforms and adverse demographics: options for the Czech Republic. Czech Journal of Economics and Finance 69(2): 174-210
Hafner, M., Stepanek, M., & Troxel, W. M. (2017). The economic implications of later school start times in the United States. Sleep health, 3(6): 451-457
IES WORKING PAPERS
Stepanek, M. (2019). Sectoral impacts of international labour migration and population ageing in the Czech Republic. IES Working Papers, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Stepanek, M., and Jahanshahi, K. (2018). Structural Analysis of Influences on Workplace Productivity Loss. IES Working Papers 2018/34, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Stepanek, M., and Schwarz, J. (2016). Patents: A Means to Innovation or Strategic Ends?. IES Working Papers 2018/34, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
SUBMISSIONS
Stepanek, M., and Schwarz, J. (2017). Technology Companies and Strategic Patenting: Two Complementary Approaches, submitted
Dissertation topic:
Essays on Labour Force and its Productivity
Disertation abstract:
The doctoral thesis presents four articles analysing labour force and its productivity. It utilises simulation modelling to assess the impacts of demographic changes, migration or shifts in productivity determinants on public finances and the economies in the Czech Republic and the USA, as well as statistical modelling to evaluate determinants behind workplace productivity. The first three studies assess the topic from a high-level perspective, providing economy-wide projections for the future decades. They also utilise the same core simulation model, an overlapping generations (OLG) framework coded in MATLAB, which is further developed for the particular use in each study. The fourth study, on the other hand, approaches the topic from the opposite direction, analysing the individual-level factors affecting productivity.
Specifically, the first article deals with demographic changes -- population ageing and shrinking -- in the context of the Czech pension system. The findings show that the existing system can provide pensions increasing at the rate of change in nominal wages, be financially sustainable in the long term, or increase the default retirement age by only two years in the next decades -- but only two of these three objectives can be achieved at the same time. On the contrary, a structural change towards an alternative, partially funded pension scheme may provide a better balance in the three outcomes without putting an excessive debt burden on the next generations.
The second article broadly builds on the previous one by analysing the economic impacts of demographic changes in the Czech Republic, yet it extends the scope of the analysis to (un)anticipated migration and sectoral effects. This is done by introducing a computable general equilibrium (CGE) side of the simulation model with a detailed representation of individuals of different ages, educational attainment and occupations, as well as interrelations among industrial sectors in producing intermediate and final outputs. The results show that the annual net immigration would need to increase by at least 8 thousand individuals on average in the 2020-2035 period and by 17 thousand individuals in the 2036-2050 period to offset the negative effects of the projected demographic changes in the long term.
The third study investigates the economic implications of later high school start times in the United States by assessing the effect on educational attainment and, in turn, on human capital accumulation on one hand and on car accidents, one of the leading causes of death among teenagers, on the other. The benefit–cost projections of this study suggest that delaying school start times would be a cost-effective population-level strategy with potentially a significant positive impact on public health and the US economy.
Finally, the last study analyses productivity determinants at the individual level by examining data on 31,950 employees in the UK using structural equation modelling. The analysed factors comprise socioeconomic characteristics, lifestyle, commuting, physical and mental health, well-being, and job and workplace environment. The study finds that, controlling for personal characteristics, mental and physical health cover more than 84\% of the direct effects on productivity loss. In addition, 93% of the indirect influences are mediated through mental and/or physical health, meaning that even job or workplace factors, such as job satisfaction, support from managers or feeling isolated ultimately affect productivity through mental and/or physical health.
Optional courses:
CV
Education
2016-2020 - Ph.D. at Charles University in Prague, Institute of Economic Studies (Czech Republic)
2014-2015 - M.A. at University of British Columbia (Canada)
2010-2014 - Bc., Ing. at University of Economics, Prague, Faculty of Business Administration (Czech Republic)
2009-2014 - Bc., Mgr. at Charles University in Prague, Institute of Economic Studies (Czech Republic)
Job history
2019+ - VitalityHealth (UK)
2018-2019 - Receipt Bank (UK)
2015-2018 - RAND Europe (UK)
Topics for supervision
Bachelor theses
Pension systems and their sustainability
Topics on migration and labour force
Health and wellbeing in economics - sleep, productivity...
Other interesting topics
Master theses
Pension systems and their sustainability
Topics on migration and labour force
Health and wellbeing in economics - sleep, productivity...
Other interesting topics
Supervised Bachelor theses
all/awarded: 1/0
Awarded:
