Comparison of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the foreign trade of the Czech and Slovak Republics in the years 2019 - 2021

The bachelor thesis compares the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the foreign trade of the Czech and Slovak Republics in the years 2019-2020. The work tries to evaluate the role of governments and other state institutions of the monitored countries during this crisis and the effect of their interventions in foreign trade in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical part defines foreign trade using the theories of economic schools, but also using modern studies of global trade. It also presents the economic models on which the practical part of the work is based. The practical part first examines the importance of international trade from a historical point of view. It then analyzes the actions of central banks and governments in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. It confronts these steps with macroeconomic data, especially with the development of the balance of payments and the share of foreign trade in GDP. The last chapter shows the final comparison of the data and presents several recommendations in case of another similar crisis. Based on the findings, it can be stated that small open economies are unable to fundamentally prevent the effects of global crises on their foreign trade in a globalized world. In terms of macroeconomic indicators and the number of deaths during the pandemic, the Slovak Republic performed slightly better, but it cannot be said that government action would make a significant contribution to this. The Czech central bank played a clearly positive role and was able to react quickly to the changes, while the ECB proved ineffective.