Competitiveness in the field of gaining new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and keeping the existing foreign developers, investors in the country has become an inseparable part of the national policy aiming at increasing the competitiveness of national economies. The increasing effectiveness of the Slovak economy is closely linked to an increase in FDI, that is a direct accelerator for the economic growth and regional development but on the other hand FDI may result in regional disparities within the national economy. Since the time FDI entered the Slovak economy it has not been allocated equally. The paper discusses FDI allocation in different Slovak regions and its impact on economic growth in regions. Applying correlation analysis the correlation between the selected macro economic indicators (GDP, unemployment rate) and FDI in Slovakia and in Trenčín Region are quantified in the paper. The type of the article: Research paper.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are typical of the tourism sector, they are adaptable and able to meet individual as well as specific consumer demands. This paper analyses the sectoral and regional structure of tourism SMEs (exactly how many of them are in the sector, where they are located and what economic activity they carry out within the tourism sec­tor). The analysis of the structure will provide a sufficient picture of which sectors most SMEs operate in and in which region these SMEs are located. A subsequent comparison of the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic periods will reveal changes in the status and development of SMEs in the service and tourism sectors in Slovakia. And then statistical methods of forecasting de­velopment trends will make it possible to outline the possible future direc­tion of the development of SMEs in Slovakia after the end of the pandemic.

The economic development of Slovakia, as well as other former socialist countries, was largely marked by the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. This process was long and difficult. Post-socialist countries were forced to adopt a broad complex of political, social, economic and institutional reforms that made the business environ­ment in the country more attractive and strengthened economic growth. This process of transformation continues and despite progress there is room for further improvement even in the most developed post-socialist coun­tries. In addition, the economy of individual countries, as well as the world economy, is currently significantly affected by the ongoing pandemic, and it has also been negatively affected by the war conflict in Ukraine and the emerging energy crisis. In the article, we will focus on evaluating and comparing the development and economic situation of former socialist countries that have since become members of the European Union. Based on selected macroeconomic indica­tors, we will assess the level of the economy of individual countries. Subse­quently, we will use the ranking method and compile and evaluate the rank­ing of the analyzed countries.

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The precondition for the development of any economy is the ex­istence of a sufficient number of promising and developing SMEs. The ba­sic element of successful SME development is the socio-economic business environment, which motivates to develop business. The paper analyses the socio-economic factors of the business environment in the regions of the Slovak Republic in the context of the development of SME business activ­ities. The authors used survey methods to identify and better understand the socio-economic factors that stimulate business development, as well as barriers to the development of SME business activities in the regions of the Slovak Republic. To assess the relationship between the socio-economic level of the regions and the development of business in the regions, the au­thors constructed a composite indicator, which made it possible to compare and monitor the development of selected indicators. The authors used more complex multidimensional statistical methods for the calculation.