Richard Kališ

Work in progress: 

The Effect of Ambulantory Emergency Service Accessibility on Health Care Outcomes (with Jakub Červený)

This study examines the impact of ambulatory emergency service (AES) accessibility on healthcare outcomes, with a specific focus on stroke mortality and ambulance dispatch rates in Slovakia. Leveraging a policy-induced expansion of AES coverage, the research employs a two-way fixed effects model to identify causal effects. 

Merger Remedies in Benchmarking-Based Regulation (with Peter Bogetoft)

This paper contributes to the literature on mergers and benchmarking-based regulation. Revenue cap schemes based on benchmarking can provide strong incentives for cost reduction, especially when there is a large number of low-cost peers available. Mergers can also lead to cost savings through knowledge sharing and economies of scale and scope. However, mergers may reduce the number of peers, thereby diminishing the competitive pressure generated by the benchmarking model. Therefore, regulators must balance the cost savings from mergers against the potential reduction in competitive pressure from a smaller peer group.We explore this trade-off by examining potential remedies regulators might implement in the context of a merger. The direct gains from a merger are often smaller compared with the broader impact on all firms indirectly affected by the merger. Consequently, achieving total cost reductions for the industry through mergers is challenging when both direct and indirect effects are considered. To gain more insight, we study three alternative remedies: naive, separated, and aggressive. These approaches differ in the cost targets imposed on newly merged firms and in the use of pre- and postmerger information in the benchmarking model for nonmerged firms. The impact on total costs to consumers depends on the details of the proposed merger and the assumed returns to scale. Under assumptions of constant, increasing or additive returns to scale, the aggressive remedy is the least costly. However, even in such cases, consumers may still be better off without the merger.

Chain formation and consumer welfare on the retail pharmacy market (with Jakub Červeny, Biliana Yontcheva) 

The present paper evaluates the effect of deregulated ownership and horizontal integration on the retail pharmacy market. Using data on the full population of reimbursed prescriptions in Slovakia in 2017, we examine whether outlets of pharmacy chains perform better than their independent counterparts in terms of consumer preferences and operating costs. Our preliminary findings indicate that consumers perceive pharmacy chains as having higher quality on average than independent outlets, although there is substantial heterogeneity in the effects, both across chain brands and across consumer types. We do not find evidence for substantial productivity gains due to chain affiliation.

Published papers: 

From symbiosis to independence: Investigating changes in the relationship between general practitioners’ presence and pharmacies’ market size in Slovakia, (solo authored, 2024)

in Health Policy

Using the Slovak pharmacy retail market case, this study examines the evolving interdependency between general practitioners (GPs) and pharmacies. Traditionally, they have operated symbiotically, with pharmacy revenues heavily reliant on prescriptions. However, the development of the market structures of these providers after the liberalization of the pharmacy retail market in 2005 raises a question about the stability of this relationship. By analyzing entry thresholds as a measure of the market size required for pharmacies to cover their entry costs, the study reveals that the dependency of pharmacies on the presence of GPs has diminished over time. In the initial year following the liberalization, the presence of a GP decreased the market size sufficient to cover entry costs for the first pharmacy by about 83% compared to a market without a GP. However, in 2019, this effect decreased to approximately 65%. This could imply worsened coverage of pharmaceutical services in small and rural areas with GPs as the entry decision of pharmacies is less elastic towards their presence.

Entry and competition in the European bike-sharing industry (with Hana Fitzová, Vilém Pařil, Milan Fila, 2024)

in Transport Policy

Assessments of the bike-sharing industry traditionally focus on its effects on other markets, municipalities, or general well-being. This paper deviates from this on how the market is organised. Using information on the aggregate number of firms in cities and greater cities across Europe, we found non-proportional changes in market size with respect to changes in market structure. This is crucial information inferring changes in profits, costs, or degree of product differentiation. To distinguish between these three sources, we utilised additional firm-level data on capacity and type of service provided. Our results suggest that the non-proportional increase in market size after an entry is most likely associated with increased intensity of competition and new forms of offered services, i.e. product differentiation. We did not find evidence that newcomers have been entering with substantially larger capacities per capita compared to incumbents. From a policy perspective, entry into the bike-sharing industry has benefited consumers through market expansion and caused a potential decrease in profits.

Efficiency effects of mergers: Harmonising merged production (with Mikuláš Luptáčik, Daniel Dujava 2022)

in  Journal of the Operational Research Society

The model of potential gains from mergers provides a useful decomposition into technical efficiency, returns to scale, and the harmony effect. While technical efficiency and returns to scale have been well elaborated, interpretation of the harmony effect remains open. We provide analytic insight into the aforementioned decomposition. We express the harmony effect as a function of the relative difference between the structures of the firms involved and the relative difference in their sizes. These factors can play an important role and, in some cases, can even outweigh a potentially negative merger outcome due to decreasing returns to scale. Furthermore, we show that the sign of the harmony effect is dependent not on the specific form of the production function but rather on its shape. In the case of a concave production function, the harmony effect contributes in a positive sense to the gains from mergers. Incorporating information on given input prices, the harmony effect is described as the product of technical, price, and allocative efficiency. The potential effects of the technical-physical based harmony effect are illustrated for the Slovak hospital sector. This application provides a detailed look at the reallocation process.

Competition in long distance transport: Impacts on prices, frequencies, and demand in the Czech Republic (with Hana Fitzová, Vilém Pařil, Marek Kasa, 2021) 

in Research in Transportation Business  Management

This article analyses the effect of different entry regulations on company conduct and traveller behaviour. The paper presents a comprehensive case study of three railway markets with significantly different entry policies using data on prices and frequencies together with a survey conducted to obtain revealed preferences. The study employs data from the three main lines in the Czech Republic. The two open access markets tended to provide significantly higher connection frequencies than the line with regulated entry did. Surprisingly, low price variation across the rail and bus markets suggests low monopoly power for the monopolised incumbent and its uniform price strategy across markets with different entry regulations. On the other hand, high price sensitivity among travellers confirms the importance of intramodal competition.

How transport policy shapes commuting patterns: The case of the Bratislava sub-urban area (with Daniel Dujava)

in Case Studies on Transport Policy.

We analyse the commuting patterns in Bratislava’s fast growing sub-urban region with sub-optimally developed infrastructure. A standardized discrete choice model is used to estimate the demand for individual car transport as well as public buses and trains, and to obtain corresponding elasticities with respect to travel costs, times and income. We find a low rate of substitution between the available modes of transport. The direct price elasticity for public modes of transport is in accordance with the often-quoted rule of thumb of −0.3. Negative income elasticities of the demand for buses and trains, together with a low direct price elasticity for car transport can be hard to overcome when looking for a solution for the current traffic problems in the region. We use modelled demand to predict the effects of two recent draft policies – the new parking system in Bratislava city and the construction of highway D4R7. In the case of the first policy, we expect a massive reduction in car use due to increased costs for car commuters. On the other hand, the new highway would only have a limited impact on mode choice and could reduce the number of train commuters.

Ongoing Projects: 

Improving the efficiency of healthcare by assessing the importance of healthcare accessibility

2024 - 2026 R2 Excellent Research Project supported by VAIA

The Research Project aims to examine the impact of healthcare accessibility on health outcomes and spending efficiency. The focus areas include evaluating the effects of emergency room coverage on urgent hospital care demand and analyzing the importance of proximity to hospitals during emergencies.  The anticipated outcomes of this research include insights into how accessibility affects health outcomes and strategies to reduce costly urgent care visits by improving emergency room accessibility. Findings from this project are expected to benefit policymakers and healthcare professionals through detailed reports and ready-to-publish scientific papers. The results will be disseminated via conferences, seminars, and online platforms to maximize their impact and reach.

Concluded Projects

Entry and competition in regulated markets: evidence from Slovak pharmacy market

2019 - 2023 Slovak Research and Development Agency project, principal investigartor: Martin Lábaj

The aim of the project is to explore the competition, entry and regulation in the pharmacy market in Slovakia. It approaches the subject from the perspective of research in Industrial Organization that has successfully investigated the context in which firms strategically make entry and exit decisions, deter entry of rivals to retain market power over time and reduce competitive pressure, and eliminate competitors in the market. Besides specific insides from the Slovak pharmacy market, the project contributes to the current worldwide knowledge in this field in several dimensions. In the project, we explicitly model spatial interactions among pharmacies. The decisions of firms, pharmacies, are investigated not only under the assumption of independent decision making units but for a case of network of branches as well. The analysis of entry and competition with homogenous products is extended for the case of vertically differentiated products that differ in quality. The project explores the substitution and complementarity relations in pharmacy market and its interactions with health care providers. Then, the impact of regulation on firms´ entry and localization decisions is modelled in the project as well.

Active Lectures

Analysis of Market Structures

Study Field: Applied Economics

Level: Graduated students

Smester: Summer

Industrial Economics

Study Field: Law and Economics

Level: Graduated students

Semester: Winter

Previous Lectures: 

Quantitiative Methods in Economics

Study Field: Faculty subject

Level: Under  graduated students

Competition Policy

Study Field: Economic Policy, Law and Economics

Level: Graduated students

Economics 101

Study Field: Faculty subject

Level: Under graduated students

The Council of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic

The Council acts as the second-instance authority, handling appeals and case reviews. It consists of seven members, including the Chairperson, appointed by the government for five-year terms. Since 2024, I have served as a member of the Council, contributing to its decision-making processes.

Economic Research Seminars

Since 2018, I have been organizing faculty research seminars at the Faculty of Economics and Finance. To date, we have hosted over 50 researchers, with an average of eight seminars per semester. The seminars are held every second Thursday from 14:00 to 15:30. 

Slovak Economic Association Meetings

The Slovak Economic Association (SEA) organizes annual conferences, the Slovak Economic Association Meetings (SEAM), which serve as platforms for economists and researchers to present their work and collaborate on various topics in economics and finance. Recent SEAM conferences have featured keynote speakers from prestigious institutions and have been hosted by Slovak universities in partnership with SEA. These events encourage academic diversity and include initiatives such as the "Women in Slovak Economics (WISE)" program.  

As a member of the organizing committee since SEAM 2021, I have been involved in planning and coordinating these meetings.