Institute of Economics

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Author: search.filters.author.Irina PiperkovaLanguage: search.filters.language.English

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    Identifying employee skills in SMEs in the Republic of North Macedonia
    (EMAN 2020, 2020-09-03)
    Aleksandra Lozanoska
    ;
    Irina Piperkova
    ;
    Elizabeta Djambaska
    The main aim of this paper is to identify current levels of knowledge, skills and abilities of the SMEs’ employees in North Macedonia, vis-à-vis firms’ needs for knowledge and skills. This paper analyzes the current levels of employee job-specific, soft, digital and entrepreneurial skills on a sample of firms in North Macedonia. For the purposes of this research, the employees were classified in three categories: core employees, supporting employees and managers. The results of the research show that the main challenge regarding the soft skills refers to solving complex problems, capacity for job analysis and initiative. Adapting to new technologies is found to be the weakest aspect of digital skill among employees. Entrepreneurial skills related to risk taking, capacity to generate new ideas, creativity and innovation as well as flexibility at work are also considered to be a challenge.
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    Employment aspects related to quality of life in North Macedonia
    (Integrated Business Faculty Skopje, 2022-06)
    Aleksandra Lozanoska
    ;
    Elizabeta Djambaska
    ;
    Irina Piperkova
    The purpose of this article is to identify the aspects of employment in the Republic of North Macedonia in terms of the quality of life. Therefore, certain features of the quantity and quality of employment for the last ten years have been taken into account, covering the working age population aged 15 to 64, vis-a-vis EU-27 (excluding the United Kingdom). The analysis refers on data indicators about the quality of life provided by Eurostat. Employment, hence the possibility for productive activity and earning income, is prerequisite for better life quality. Also, the improvements in terms of higher wages, permanent job and јоb arrangements that correspond to the relevant education and skills are paramount for person’s life quality. The Covid-19 pandemic drastically changed everyday life and caused changes in work, so the perceptions of the employees in Macedonia on this issue, obtained as a result of an online survey, are also presented in this paper. The findings of the survey confirm that the pandemic caused changes in work, as well as job losses, but also other qualitative changes in employment, such as work from home, which significantly affect the quality of life. This research doesn’t cover all aspects of employment and unemployment in terms of quality of life. There are other relevant issues on this theme which can be topics for further studies and analysis.
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    Quality of education - the core value of human capital
    (Institute of Economics – Skopje, 2022-04)
    Irina Piperkova
    ;
    Elizabeta Djambaska
    ;
    Aleksandra Lozanoska
    Education is the major building block of human capital. The purpose of this article is to investigate the level of quality in secondary education and analyze educational attainment trends in North Macedonia. The research focuses on Eurostat statistical data of the educational attainment level of the population in North Macedonia vis-a-vis EU average. Eurostat data on employment based on educational attainment level of the population present an overview of the importance of education for employment opportunities and economic prosperity of individuals. The paper also analyzes the quality of education in North Macedonia, using an online survey among high school students to assess their perception on the level of quality of education. Survey findings reveal significant weaknesses in the quality of education in North Macedonia, among which the most alarming is that students do not perceive causality between education and future benefits in life.Without focusing on improving quality of education, especially in terms of greater focus on applied knowledge and lifelong learning, the country cannot expect that education can be a driver of human capital, productivity and economic growth.
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    Productivity as a source of economic growth - current situation and prospect in the Republic of North Macedonia
    (Institute of Economics – Skopje, 2022-10)
    Elizabeta Djambaska
    ;
    Aleksandra Lozanoska
    ;
    Irina Piperkova
    Productivity is an indicator of the use (exploitation) of the potential of inputs for creating new value added in the economy. In the long term, productivity growth is dependent upon innovation, investment in physical capital, and investment in human capital. These immediate factors are shaped by the environment in which enterprises operate: market structures, infrastructure, the institutional framework and the quality of governance. The main objective of this paper is to study productivity growth in the Republic of North Macedonia and to analyses and propose measures that can be taken to stimulate productivity. The analysis include: labor productivity, total factor productivity (TFP) and the level of enterprise productivity. Labour productivity in North Macedonia is low, and in the past five years even negative. The calculations of the total factor productivity using the Solow’s growth model and Cobb-Douglas production function for the past twenty years, shows that GDP average growth is 4,97% and the TFP contribute by 1,69%.The level of enterprise productivity is also low.Therefore, the expectations for the increase of the GDP and reaching economic growth that can be sustainable is possible with increasing total factor productivity in the North Macedonia.
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    Human resource practices in small businesses in Republic of North Macedonia
    (Institute of Economics – Skopje, 2023-04)
    Irina Piperkova
    ;
    Elizabeta Djambaska
    ;
    Aleksandra Lozanoska
    The primary objective of this paper is to identify human resource practices implemented by small firms, so as to better understand the specifics of human resource management in small businesses. An online survey was conducted among small businesses in the Republic of North Macedonia. The research findings4 reveal that small firms in North Macedonia use employee referrals as a recruiting strategy and a traditional selection process based on CV/interview analysis. Most of small businesses have some form of consistent and continuous compensation system, with employee performance as a main criterion for determining the compensation level. Employee training has been identified as one of the biggest challenges that small businesses face. Most small firms conduct employee training to improve job-specific skills for current job tasks. In addition, employee trainings are implemented on an ad hoc basis and largely depend on firms’ available financial resources, since high training costs remain to be an obstacle to small firms.