Conference on higher education

On November 5, 2002 in Vilnius, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute and the Knowledge Economy Forum will hold a conference “Lithuanian Higher Education: Diagnosis and Prognosis”. The aim of the conference is to stir up debates on higher education policy in Lithuania in order to create an effective system of higher education, to improve the quality of higher education to reflect technological progress and market needs, and to establish qualitative, student- and market-oriented studies. At the event, LFMI will present the fundamentals of the proposed reform of education system.

Conference participants will discuss such topics as the impact of higher education on man’s life and development, modern world challenges on higher education, and innovations of higher education reforms around the world. LFMI will present the fundamentals of the proposed reform of education system.

Among the speakers will be representatives from higher schools, student and business community, the President’s Office, the Parliament, and the Ministry of Education as well as Lithuanian and foreign policy analysts.

The idea to organise this event was prompted by understanding that higher education is facing new challenges, its problems are aggravating and reforms conducted do far have brought futile results. All this encourages specialists and academia to assess directions of reforms anew and to encompass the aspects of both systemic management of studies and financing of the system as well as to propose directions which would reflect the modern realia and the expectations of society.

The conference is financed by the Freedom House and the Open Society Fund.

LFMI analyses housing financing policy

In summer and autumn LFMI placed a special focus on issues of housing conditions and abilities to improve the housing situation of people in Lithuania. Within the framework of a joint-project with the World Bank and the Housing and Urban Development Foundation, LFMI conducted the Lithuanian household survey. The aim of the survey was to analyse Lithuanian households’ income and expenditure, expectations regarding changes in their economic situation, expenditure priorities, housing conditions, willingness and efforts to improve housing conditions as well as attitudes towards commercial loans and state housing policy. This data will serve a primary source of information in drafting the National Housing Strategy, so that its goals and forms of state support for housing correspond to the real situation in the country - people’s financial abilities and expectations and budget abilities. The Strategy is to be drafted by the Government by the end of 2002.

Drawing on the results of this survey and seeking to halt lavish and ill-directed housing policy, LFMI is analysing the effectiveness of the housing policy pursued in Lithuania and the existing and proposed instruments of housing financing. In a round table discussion held in July, LFMI presented an in-depth study of the contract saving system (the so-called “Bausparkassen” system) to parliament members, financial analysts and specialists of housing policy. The study reveals the weaknesses of the contract saving system and is based on other countries’ experience. In a press conference in September, LFMI’s policy analysts pointed out this system’s defects once again. If adopted, LFMI argued, this system will fail to achieve the goals of state support, as it is tailored to support middle- and higher-income people, not the poorest residents. Moreover, it would jeopardise the state finances, the financial sector and the competitiveness in the banking sector. LFMI’s policy analysts also stressed that the adoption of the contract saving system would markedly reduce preconditions to introduce other housing finance systems, such as a mortgage lending system, that do not entail state support. A bill on mortgage lending system is being drafted at the moment.

International conference on taxes and competitiveness

On December 5-6, 2002 in Vilnius, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the Heritage Foundation, in partnership with the MG Baltic and the Philip Morris Lietuva, will host a two-day international conference “Tax Competition and Competitiveness.” The conference is also supported by the business daily Verslo zinios and the PricewaterhouseCoopers. The event is organized under the courtesy of President of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus.

The conference will examine the peculiarities of tax regimes and policy reforms pursued in the Baltic States and Russia and their impact on business, investment, and economic development. A special focus will be put on tax planning, its role in ensuring competitiveness, and the countries’ policies towards tax heavens. The main facets of tax legislation in the European Union will also be presented to analyse the issues of tax harmonization and tax competition.

The aim of the conference is to highlight different approaches to tax policy adopted by the countries and to answer the questions - how these countries will fare in terms of tax regimes and investment environments in the near future; what lessons Lithuania should draw from practice of other countries; and what challenges the EU should accept in order to provide favourable conditions for its countries to compete on the EU market and among themselves.

The audience of the conference will comprise approximately 120-150 participants, including members of parliament, high-ranking government officials, ministry executives, leading business people, policy analysts, representatives of international institutions, and academia from the Baltic States, Russia, and the EU countries.

More information about the event can be downloaded at LFMI’s homepage www.freema.org/tax.phtml.