REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

The issue of regional disparities within the European Union has come to attention, especially after the largest enlargement in 2004, following the accession of relatively economically less developed countries, including Slovakia. The development of economic, social and geographical inequalities is an important subject of society's interest. In the context of theory, two fundamental tendencies are related, in particular, to the role of the state in mitigating regional disparities. The first approach is based on the assumption that there are forces in the long run leading to balancing regional disparities and therefore the state should not interfere significantly. The second approach inversely highlights the role of the state in reducing regional disparities and thus supports the development of regional policy as a set of tools for economic and social cohesion. Differences in economic development and its dynamics, economic activity, the level of living, the level of unemployment, and the level of wage vary between regions. There is a tight link between wage levels and unemployment, the nature of which is the subject of frequent expert discussions. Both unemployment and wage rates show a considerable degree of regional differentiation in Slovakia, especially between the capital Bratislava and other regions of Slovakia, which is related to the status of the capital as an economically dominant region and, on the contrary, to the economic challenges of lagging regions, especially in Central and Eastern Slovakia. Monitoring regional disparities enables the less developed regions of a particular region to be targeted by regional aid. Regional development in Slovakia is largely provided through EU funds. Investment incentives also play an important role as one of the tools to motivate investors to place their new branch offices mainly in less developed regions, in areas with higher levels of unemployment. The main objective of the contribution, based on the analysis of the current situation of the labour market situation and wage inequalities, is to identify the impact of the main factors on the phenomena examined, i.e. unemployment and wage differences.