Par iespējām veicināt Latvijas produktivitāti, starptautisko konkurētspēju un lielo uzņēmumu lomu šajā procesā 1. oktobrī no plkst. 14.00 – 16.00 tiešraidē portālā “Delfi” ekspertu diskusijā “Lielo inovatīvo uzņēmumu loma Latvijas konkurētspējas veicināšanā” sarunājās LU rektors prof. Gundars Bērziņš, LU Padomes priekšsēdētājs prof. Mārcis Auziņš, LU Produktivitātes zinātniskā institūta direktore prof. Inna Šteinbuka, uzņēmējs, ekonomists, industriālā betona ražošanas uzņēmuma “Primekss” dibinātājs un vadītājs Jānis Ošlejs,  LMT viceprezidents mārketinga un biznesa attīstības jautājumos Ingmārs Pūķis, zvērinātu advokātu biroja Eversheds Sutherland Bitāns vecākais partneris Māris Vainovskis, AS “Latvijas Valsts meži” padomes priekšsēdētāja Zane Driņķe, Valsts akciju sabiedrība “Latvijas Valsts radio un televīzijas centrs” valdes priekšsēdētājs Ģirts Ozols, AS “Latvenergo” valdes priekšsēdētājs Mārtiņš Čakste, Ekonomikas ministrijas Uzņēmējdarbības konkurētspējas departamenta direktores vietnieks Mārtiņš Jansons. Diskusiju vadīja Latvijas Televīzijas žurnālists Gundars Rēders.

Diskusiju Produktivitātes dialoga ietvaros rīkoja Latvijas Universitātes Ekonomikas un sociālo zinātņu fakultātes Produktivitātes zinātniskais institūts “LU domnīca LV PEAK“.

Tiešraides ieraksts.

2024

On June 10, LV PEAK Economic Barometer No.4 was presented at the European Union House in Riga.

The Productivity Research Institute "UL think tank LV PEAK" has prepared the fifth "Economic Barometer", which includes the current analysis of Latvian macroeconomic data compared to the development dynamics of Lithuania and Estonia over the last ten years. The economic overview summarises the consensus development forecasts of Latvian and international institutions, as well as leading macroeconomic experts.

The event was opened by prof. Gundars Berziņš, Chair of the Latvian Productivity Board and Rector of the University of Latvia. The results of the fifth LV PEAK Economic Barometer was presented by the Director of the "UL think tank LV PEAK" prof. Inna Šteinbuka, which will be followed by a discussion among experts.

Full report is available here

On March 1, 2024 at the 82nd International Scientific Conference of the University of Latvia the Productivity Research Institute “UL Think tank LV PEAK” organises a section "Modelling and smart transformation of economic systems".

The purpose of the conference section was to provide a platform where scientists, researchers and industry professionals could meet to exchange ideas, insights, research results and discuss current energy transition challenges and economic system modelling issues.

Conference section programme LV

Conference section programme EN

The conference "Productivity dialogue organised by the Latvian Productivity Board and the Productivity Research Institute of the University of Latvia “UL Think tank LV PEAK” will take place on February 15 at the Ministry of Education and Science.

The purpose of the dialogue is to present Latvia's Productivity Report 2023 and discuss current issues related to productivity and competitiveness.

The conference will be opened by Prof. Gundars Bērziņš, chairman of the Latvian Productivity Board, dean of the Faculty of Business, Management and Economics of the University of Latvia, and opening speeches will be delivered by Anda Čakša, Minister for Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia, and Viktors Valainis, Minister for Economics of the Republic of Latvia. The keynote address will be given by Géraldine Mahieu, Director for Investment, growth and structural reforms, European Commission Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (EC DG ECFIN).

"Productivity Dialogue" programme

On January 17, the LV PEAK Economic Barometer and the Youth Sentiment Survey presentation took place.

The presentation of the results of the LV PEAK Economic Barometer and the Youth Sentiment Survey was held at  the Ministry of Education and Science, which is the ministry responsible for education and youth policy in Latvia. The youth survey data shows how young people value their education and skills and whether they think they will help them succeed in the labor market.

The Productivity Research Institute "UL think tank LV PEAK" has prepared the fourth LV PEAK Economic Barometer, which includes the current analysis of Latvian macroeconomic data and practical recommendations for policy makers. The economic overview summarizes the consensus development forecasts of Latvian and international institutions, as well as leading macroeconomic experts.

Within the framework of the LV PEAK Economic Barometer, in cooperation with the Research Center SKDS, the second Youth Sentiment Survey was conducted, the purpose of which was to find out the overall confidence mood of young people in regards with the economic processes in the country, as well as factors and risks that affect the development of the Latvian economy from the point of view of young people.

The event was opened by Anda Čakša, Minister for Education and Science. The results of the LV PEAK Economic barometer was presented by Director of the "UL think tank LV PEAK" prof. Inna Šteinbuka, while prof. Gundars Berziņš, Chair of the Latvian Productivity Board and Dean of the Faculty of Business, Management and Economics of the University of Latvia, was presenting the results of the Youth Sentiment Survey, which was followed by a discussion among experts.

2023

On June 13, LV PEAK Economic barometer No.3 was presented at the Faculty of Business, Management and Economics of the University of Latvia.

The Productivity Research Institute "UL think tank LV PEAK" has prepared the third "Economic Barometer", which includes the current analysis of Latvian macroeconomic data compared to the development dynamics of Lithuania and Estonia over the last ten years. The economic overview summarises the consensus development forecasts of Latvian and international institutions, as well as leading macroeconomic experts.

The event was opened by prof. Gundars Berziņš, Chair of the Latvian Productivity Board and Dean of the Faculty of Business, Management and Economics of the University of Latvia. The results of the third LV PEAK Economic barometer was presented by the Director of the "UL think tank LV PEAK" prof. Inna Šteinbuka, which was followed by a discussion among experts.

Full report is available here

On March 27, 2023 at the 81st International Scientific Conference of the University of Latvia the Productivity Research Institute “UL Think tank LV PEAK” in cooperation with the European Commission Representation in Latvia organises a section “Successful Energy Transition: GAP Between Ambition and Action”.

The conference section was dedicated to the discussion of energy transition processes and its challenges, as well as to the presentation of a peer-reviewed monograph ”Towards Climate Neutrality: Economic Impacts, Opportunities and Risks”. The monograph was created and developed by UL Think tank LV PEAK within the scientific project “Modelling and Analysis of the Economic Impact of Climate Goals” and is based on the study materials of the section “Towards climate neutrality: economic impacts, opportunities and risks” of the 80th International Scientific Conference 2022 of the University of Latvia. The monograph is a comprehensive study on the energy transition process to climate neutrality and its challenges conducted by the team of energy experts form seven countries. The research on energy transition studies the global trends in three dimensions of energy trilemma - sustainability, availability and safety, and examples of several countries in implementing energy transition instruments.

The purpose of the conference section was to provide a platform where scientists, researchers and industry professionals can meet to exchange ideas, insights, research results and discuss current issues related to energy transformation.

The conference section took place at the European Union House, Aspazijas bulvāris 28. The event had a hybrid format with the possibility to attend in person and connect remotely. Live stream of the event was available on the University of Latvia website and the public media portal LSM.lv, as well as on the Facebook page of the Faculty of Business, Management and Economics of the UL.

The Programme of the Conference section “Successful Energy Transition: GAP Between Ambition and Action”

Presentations

Part I

Mr. Edmunds Valantis, State Secretary, Ministry of Economics : Energy transition from the perspective of economic development / Enerģijas transformācija no ekonomiskās attīstības skatu punkta

Mr. Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission : Europe’s energy policy - from short-term solutions to the long-term outlook / Eiropas enerģētikas politika. No īstermiņa risinājumiem līdz ilgtermiņa perspektīvām

Mr. Mihails Kozlovs, Member of the European Court of Auditors : Is EU on track to achieve the ambitious energy and climate goals? / Kā Eiropas Savienībai veicas ar  ambiciozo enerģētikas un klimata mērķu sasniegšanu?

Prof. Andris Piebalgs, Former European Commissioner for Energy : How to achieve a global breakthrough - the example of the mitigation of methane emissions / Kā panākt globālu izrāvienu - metāna emisiju mazināšanas piemērs

Part II

1.   Energy and environmental systems modelling design: Scenario modelling for Latvia

Author: REĶIS Jānis

2.   Substitution elasticity of energy and other production factors: An empirical estimation for EU 27 member states and other major economies

Authors: FRAGKIADAKIS Konstantinos, FRAGKIADAKIS Dimitris, Paroussos Leonidas

3.    Energy transition ambition and path to hit the goal

Authors: BOGDANOVA Olga, PIĢĒNS Kārlis

4. Baltic trilemma index as a lighthouse for smooth energy transition

Authors: EGLĪTE Kristīne, VISKUBA Karīna, GROZA Edgars, GORBATKO Nikita, SMILTĀNS Edgars, MANDMAA Priit, TUMILO Robertas, KURSĪTE Raimonda, TIHONOVA-ZĀĢERE Santa

5. Assessing the environmental impact of decarbonizing the electricity system

Authors: SOUSA Ana, SANTOS Bruno Henrique, CARLOS Francisco, POMBEIRO Henrique, GOMES João Graça, GONÇALVES Margarida, ITEN Muriel, CARVALHO Nuno, FRADE Pedro, FERREIRA Pedro

6. Emerging green hydrogen economy: Uruguay as a case study

Authors: BASTARRICA Felipe, DI CHIARA Lorena, ESTRADA Ignacio, FERRÉS Federico, IRRAZABAL Gonzalo, MERCANT Juan Manuel, PERRONI Alejandro, ÁLVAREZ Ariel

7. Perceived environmental quality in Riga and other European cities

Author: KRASNOPJOROVS Oļegs


­Recording of Conference Sections Part I and Part II:

On February 22, 2023, the conference "Productivity Dialogue" took place. The conference was organised by the Latvian Productivity Board and the Productivity Research Institute of the University of Latvia “UL Think tank LV PEAK” in cooperation with the European Commission Representation in Latvia.

The event was opened by Ms. Ilze Indriksone, Minister of the Ministry of Economics of Latvia and Prof. Gundars Bērziņš, Chair of the Latvia’s Productivity Board, followed by presentations by Ms. Valerie Vandermeulen, Deputy Head of Unit, DG ECFIN, Ms. Chiara Criscuolo, Head of the OECD’s Productivity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Division and Prof. Inna Šteinbuka, Director of the University of Latvia’s Productivity Research Institute “UL think tank LV PEAK”. Representatives of the Ministry of Economics, the Latvian Academy of Sciences, the Productivity Board of Latvia, UL think tank LV PEAK, the Employers' Confederation of Latvia (LDDK) and the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) also presented at the conference.

"Productivity Dialogue" programme

More details

On January 17, LV PEAK Economic barometer No.2 was presented at the Faculty of Business, Management and Economics of the University of Latvia.

The Productivity Research Institute "UL think tank LV PEAK" has prepared the second LV PEAK Economic Barometer, which includes the current analysis of Latvian macroeconomic data and practical recommendations for policy makers. The economic overview summarizes the consensus development forecasts of Latvian and international institutions, as well as leading macroeconomic experts.

Within the framework of the study, in cooperation with the Research Center SKDS, the first time in Latvia Youth Sentiment Survey was conducted, the purpose of which was to find out the overall confidence mood of young people in regards with the economic processes in the country, as well as factors and risks that affect the development of the Latvian economy from the point of view of young people.

The event was opened by prof. Gundars Berziņš, Chair of the Latvian Productivity Board and Dean of the Faculty of Business, Management and Economics of the University of Latvia. The results of the second LV PEAK Economic barometer was presented by the Director of the "UL think tank LV PEAK" prof. Inna Šteinbuka, while Arnis Kaktiņš, Director of the Research Center SKDS, presented the results of the Youth Sentiment Survey, which was followed by a discussion among experts.

The full report can be found here:

2022

On November 24, 2022, the University of Latvia think tank LV PEAK in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, held a webinar on the study “The Green Course – progress towards climate neutrality in 2050. Strategic investment directions for the development of export potential. Future technologies and investment projects for Latvia.” to discuss the findings of the study and find out the views of stakeholders. The webinar was organized within the scientific project "Implementation of measures in the field of investment and productivity".

 

Presentation of the webinar

On November 4, 2022, the University of Latvia think tank LV PEAK in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, held a webinar on the study "Impact of Inflation on Investments and Proposals for Investments in Productivity Promotion" to discuss the findings of the study and find out the views of stakeholders. The webinar was organized within the scientific project "Implementation of measures in the field of investment and productivity".

 

Presentation of the webinar

On October 27, 2022 to mark the launch of the Technical Support Instrument programme and to ascertain Latvia’s needs and objectives, the CompNet visited Riga to meet with Productivity Board of Latvia and Productivity Research Institute “University of Latvia Think tank LV PEAK”. Representatives of European Commission, Latvia’s Central Statistical Bureau, Ministry of Economics of Republic of Latvia, Ministry of Finance of Republic of Latvia and representatives of Bank of Latvia also participated in the meeting.

 

The meeting was opened by Prof. Gundars Berziņš, chair of the Productivity Board of Latvia, Prof. Inna Šteinbuka, Director of the University of Latvia Think tank LV PEAK, and Stratis Kastrissianakis and Elodie Boulch, Sustainable Growth and Business Environment Unit, Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM), European Commission, followed by several CompNet presentations. Furthermore, research presentations regarding the use of firm-level micro data in Latvia were given by Dr. Oļegs Tkačevs, Chief Researcher of the Research Division, Monetary Policy Department, Bank of Latvia, and Dr. Oļegs Krasnopjorovs, Deputy Director of the University of Latvia Think tank LV PEAK.

Productivity Board of Latvia and University of Latvia Think tank LV PEAK have been granted the Technical Support Instrument programme by European Commission.

The main objective of the Programme is to provide EU National Productivity Boards with the tools to improve their ability to design policy reforms and support Member States in evaluating the best policy choices to implement the reforms agreed as part of their Recovery and Resilience Plans. The project will provide National Productivity Boards and other economic national institutions with harmonized data (micro-aggregated and cross-country comparable) to conduct policy analysis and produce policy recommendations. This project will also provide the necessary training to ensure the National Productivity Boards and other economic national institutions can fully exploit the potential of the micro-based data infrastructure.

The Programme will be implemented by CompNet – The Competitiveness Research Network wich provides a forum for high level research and policy analysis in the areas of competitiveness and productivity. Its main activities include the regular updating of its micro-based competitiveness dataset for European countries, unprecedented in terms of coverage and cross-country comparability. The CompNet will function as an intermediary between EU National Productivity Boards and their corresponding National Statistical Institutes. It will assist the latter to generate appropriately harmonized datasets related to productivity and its drivers based on firm level information as granular as possible given national data availability.

The Programme will assist 6 EU Member States: Germany, France, Portugal, Slovenia, Latvia, and Slovakia.

On October 12, 2022, the University of Latvia think tank LV PEAK in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, held a webinar on the study "Creation of a leading indicators tool, incl. use of open data, etc. alternative solutions for real-time economic monitoring (innovation, export, productivity)" to discuss the findings of the study and find out the views of stakeholders. The webinar was organized within the scientific project "Implementation of measures in the field of investment and productivity".

 

Presentation of the webinar

On March 18 Productivity Research Institute of the University of Latvia “UL Think tank LV PEAK” carried out the session “Towards climate neutrality: economic impacts, opportunities and risks” at the 80th International Scientific Conference of the University of Latvia. The session was organised within the framework of the project “Modelling and Analysis of the Economic Impact of Climate Goals”.

The conference session provided a platform/opportunity for scholars, researchers and professionals from different disciplinary backgrounds to meet, exchange ideas, findings, research results and discuss the topical issues related to climate neutrality.

Agenda of the Session

Report presentations:

1.            Life cycle assessment of renewable energy sources towards climate neutrality

Authors: Mrs SOUSA, Ana; Mr HENRIQUE, SANTOS, Bruno; Mr CARLOS, Francisco; Dr POMBEIRO, Henrique; Mr GRAÇA GOMES, João; Ms GONÇALVES, Margarida; Mrs ITEN, Muriel; Mr CARVALHO, Nuno; Mr FRADE, Pedro; Mr FERREIRA, Pedro

2.            Distributional Implications of GHG mitigation policies: Methods and Insights

Authors: Mr PAROUSSOS, Leonidas; Mr CHARALAMPIDIS, Ioannis; Mr FRAGKIADAKIS, Kostas; Mrs VRONTISI, Zoi

3.            Computable General Equilibrium Model as a Tool to Assess the Impact of Climate Policy in Latvia

Authors: Dr KRASNOPJOROVS, Olegs; Mr JUKNA, Daniels; Mr KOVALOVS, Konstantins; Ms FREIMANE, Rita

4.            Structural limits of Czech energy policy

Author: Dr VLCEK, Tomas

5.            The Energy Trilemma Index as a tool to support national security of energy system towards climate neutrality

Authors: Mr GICEVSKIS, Karlis; Mr GROZA, Edgars; Ms KARPOVICA, Inese; Mr SMILTANS, Edgars

6.            Latvia’s green energy development - at what expense?

Authors: Mr TUKULIS, Anrijs; Mr MILLERS, Haralds; Ms VISKUBA, Karīna; Mr LIEPNIEKS, Tomass

7.            Energy Equity and its Evaluation Methodologies

Authors: Dr OLEKSIJS, Romans; Dr GREBESA, Polina; Mr ZAJECS, Felikss; Mr ROZENFELDS, Egons

8.            The potential impact of energy policies on energy costs

Authors: Mr PIĢĒNS, Kārlis; Dr BOGDANOVA, Olga

9.            Towards Climate Neutrality: Diminishing of the CO2 Emissions in Construction Materials’ Production in Latvia

Authors: Ms LOZOVA, Ludmila; Prof SLOKA, Biruta

10.          Tourism Transformation into Responsible Form towards the Sustainable Development

Authors: Ms MONTVYDAITĖ, Deimena; Dr LABANAUSKAITĖ, Daiva

11.          CSR and its Role in Communicating Climate Change Challenges

Author: Mr ŅIKADIMOVS, Oļegs

 

2021

On December 28, 2021, the Annual National Accounts Department of the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) organized a meeting to present the indicators developed within the project "Development of Growth and Productivity Account Indicators" and their publication site on the official statistics portal, as well as the range of other national account indicators, whose scope of publication was expanded on the portal in the fall of 2021. The CSB invited a discussion on the possible development of productivity indicators that would be needed by the main users of national accounts data.

 

Meeting presentation

On December 10, 2021, the Zoom seminar organised by the Productivity Research Institute of the University of Latvia “UL Think tank LV PEAK” took place. The seminar was held in cooperation with the Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia and the Institute of Physical Energetics within the scientific project "Modelling and Analysis of the Economic Impact of Climate Goals".

The first part of the seminar focused on the implementation of the European Green Course and the challenges of the Latvian economy, the second part was devoted to the experience and challenges of climate change policy modelling.

The live broadcast of the seminar could be viewed on the public media portal LSM.lv and on the Facebook page of the Faculty of Business, Management and Economics of the University of Latvia.

The programme of the seminar

Presentations

Dr. Dmitrijs Skoruks: Klimata mērķu ekonomiskās ietekmes modelēšana: pētniecības projekta mērķi.

Prof. Gundars Bērziņš: Valsts un sabiedrības iesaiste zaļā kursa realizācijā. Iespējas un izaicinājumi.

Ivars Golsts: Zaļā kursa izaicinājumi Latvijas enerģētikas sektorā.

Vineta Kleinberga: Zinātnes loma klimata pārmaiņu politikas veidošanā.

Dr. Aleksejs Nipers: Eiropas zaļais kurss – tehniska mērķu izpilde vai jēgpilna virzība?

Dr. Gaidis Klāvs: Modelēšanas pieejas pielietošana Eiropas Komisijas “Gatavi mērķrādītājam 55%” (Fit for 55) iniciatīvas ietekmes novērtējumam: sākotnējie rezultāti.

Līga Meņģelsone: Klimata mērķi un līdzsvarota pieeja.

Jānis Lielpēteris: Zaļais kurss šodienas acīm: uzņēmējs kompasa meklējumos.

Dr. Oļegs Krasnopjorovs: How to model the impact of climate policy on the economy? Lessons from foreign experience.

Dr. Leonidas Paroussos: Modelling the Socio-Economic Implications of Climate Change: State of the Art in CGE Modelling and Challenges.

Dr. Jānis Reķis: Energy and environmental systems modelling design.

Dr. Dzintars Jaunzems: Model-based policymaking or policy-based modelling? Experience on use of simulation and optimisation models.

The conference “Productivity Dialogue - 2021” organised by the Latvian Productivity Board and the Productivity Research Institute of the University of Latvia “UL Think tank LV PEAK” took place on December 2, 2021. Its live broadcast was available on the news portal TVNET and on the Facebook page of the Faculty of Business, Management and Economics of the University of Latvia.

The conference, which was attended by Latvia's leading researchers, politicians, representatives of non-governmental organizations and entrepreneurs, presented the draft Annual Productivity Report and addressed the challenges related to the pandemic, including the challenges of teleworkingr and the labor market. The main recent research in the field of productivity was discussed, as well as what lessons were learned to maintain productivity during the pandemic and in what directions to work in the future to ensure productivity growth. The conference was moderated by prof. Inna Steinbuka, director of the Productivity Research Institute of the University of Latvia “UL Think tank LV PEAK”.

"Productivity Dialogue - 2021" Programme

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2020

On November 25, 2020, the Productivity Board of Latvia and the Productivity Research Institute of the University of Latvia "LU think tank LV PEAK" organised an online conference "Productivity Dialogue".

The Productivity Dialogue was organised to present the Latvian Productivity Report and to provide a platform for exchanging views on national productivity challenges and to improve mutual understanding of key policy requirements for future policies and productivity-enhancing reforms. The conference was attended by researchers, politicians, NGO's and entrepreneurs, who provided an opportunity to discuss the country's productivity issues with various stakeholders.

"Productivity Dialogue" Programme

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