Sick leave is a key indicator of labour market performance and public health, reflecting employee well-being and working conditions while creating a socioeconomic burden. Rates have increased in Europe due to ageing and shrinking workforces, yet research has focused mainly on medical risks, with...

The Floods Directive (FD) established a framework for flood risk management. It foresees 6-yearly cycles aiming at the reduction of the adverse consequences associated with floods in the European Union (EU). The first cycle covered the period 2010-15. The second cycle covers the period 2016-21....

This article investigates the link between personality traits and workers' productivity when working from home (WFH). We exploit a survey conducted in Latvia in 2021, providing measures of the "Big Five" personality traits for more than 1,700 recent teleworkers. Other things being equal,...

Latvia's education system produces good results in terms of basic skills but struggles with geographical inequalities in access to quality education. The proportion of top-performing students is below the EU average. Despite government efforts, renewing the teaching workforce is a challenge. The...

The Education and Training Monitor's country reports present and assess the main recent and ongoing policy development at all education levels in the 27 EU Member States. They give the reader more in-depth insight into the performance of a country as regards the EU-level targets agreed within...

This study explores the economic feasibility and long-term potential of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems in multi-apartment buildings across the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia) through 2050. Using stochastic modeling and Monte Carlo simulations, it uniquely evaluates the...

The main purpose of this study is to compare foreign direct investment (FDI) patterns in Latvia and Serbia, examining underlying trends, institutional frameworks, and historical contexts that shape investment dynamics. By analyzing regulatory structures, incentive schemes, and investment...

Cedefop's work on qualifications frameworks dates back to 2003. The Centre has contributed to the conceptual development of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and has supported its further implementation, working alongside national authorities and stakeholders to introduce and develop...

The aim is to identify gaps in the monitoring network for Latvia according to the revised Ambient Air Quality Directive (Directive (EU) 2024/2881). The analysis is conducted considering the data officially reported by Latvia for the last five years (2019-2023) to EEA's Repornet2. Data has been...

This article examines the theoretical foundations of economic forecasting based on DSGE models. DSGE models are the main direction of contemporary macroeconomics theory - the inclusion of the stochastic processes and expectations of economic agents in the analysis of economic processes made them...

This unique insight into the corporate investment in Latvia examines companies' finance needs and the constraints they face. The 2024 edition also provides insight into the pressing issues facing firms, such as climate change, high energy costs and the green transition. The survey, which has...

The VAT Gap represents the difference between expected VAT revenues and those actually collected, reflecting compliance challenges, policy inefficiencies, and enforcement gaps. As part of the European Commission's ongoing efforts to improve VAT compliance and revenue collection, these 27 country...

This case study is an analysis of the cross-border labour market in the EE Lääne-Eesti-LV Pieriga/Vidzeme Region. It studies the dynamics of the cross-border labour market from both a statistical and policy perspective and focuses on the cross-border region as a whole. To compensate for the...

This report documents the work done in the most recent annual update for Latvia. This work was carried out by the EUROMOD core development team, based at the JRC in Seville, in collaboration with the national team.

There were 53 ELD occurrences in Latvia up to the end of 2021. Compared with other Member States, the level of enforcement of national ELD legislation is moderate to good.1 This is due in large part to the implementation and enforcement of national ELD legislation for all land, water and...

Latvia is characterised by a large fleet composed mainly of small-scale coastal vessels. The fishing industry faces challenges due to an ageing fleet and reduced fish stocks. There is little to no demand for the training of fishers in Latvia; therefore, Latvia lacks specialised training...

Meat consumption has come under scrutiny due to its significant ecological footprint. Understanding the determinants of meat consumption is crucial for designing effective interventions to promote sustainable diets. Thus, using results from the representative survey conducted in Latvia, in 2023...

The aim of the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Assessment, as mandated in Article 8 of the Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 on serious cross border threat to health, is to improve prevention, preparedness and response planning in EU/EEA countries through the implementation of recommendations...

Latvia has a centralised approach to water management, with three competent authorities reporting all at national level. Thus, the approach for drafting the RBMPs is consistent on all four RBDs. Latvia has several thematic transboundary agreements for water management and ongoing international...

The Floods Directive (FD) established a framework for flood risk management (FRM). It foresees 6-yearly cycles aiming to reduce the risk of flood damage in the European Union (EU). The first cycle covered the period 2010-15. The second cycle covered the period 2016-21. The third cycle will cover...

Purpose - The goal of this research was to identify the need for networking competencies in social enterprises rated by the managerial personnel of social enterprises and academic staff of universities in Latvia. Research methodology - A survey among representatives of Latvian social enterprises...

Overall, government effectiveness in Latvia remains below the average among the European Union Member States (EU‑27) and has decreased since 2019 (before the impact of COVID‑19). The significant government reforms initiated before COVID‑19 were slowed down during the pandemic. Now, the...

Existing energy security index (ESI) studies focus on individual countries, with indicators chosen according to the specifics of the country or the region. This study assesses the ESI for district heating (DH) in Latvia through a composite index methodology. The index consists of 10 indicators,...

The Education and Training Monitor's country reports present and assess the main recent and ongoing policy development at all education levels in the 27 EU Member States. They give the reader more in-depth insight into the performance of a country as regards the EU-level targets agreed within...

This VET policy brief produced by Cedefop presents a snapshot of vocational education and training (VET) policy developments in Latvia between 2020 and the end of 2024. It presents the context and the challenges the country faces, a selection of the latest VET-related statistics, as well as the...

The Commission carried out a study to look at consumer behaviours concerning food waste and date marking. The study covered over 25000 participants from across all 27 EU Member States, who were asked to report on how they manage food in their daily lives through a survey. Based on their...

This paper discusses strategies to modernize Latvia’s electricity sector, focusing on deeper integration with the EU electricity grid. Based on the Latvian Energy Strategy 2050, which prioritizes a greener, more secure, and efficient energy supply, the paper highlights the advantages of EU...

Latvia's economy has faced challenges in competitiveness, with labor productivity growth slowing over the past two decades. This paper analyzes labor productivity growth in Latvia and the Baltic region, focusing on allocative efficiency and firm dynamics. Resource misallocation has significantly...

Latvia has a three-pillar pension system consisting of an earnings-related public scheme, a funded mandatory pillar, and a private voluntary contributions pillar. Despite its well-designed structure, the system faces challenges in ensuring adequate retirement income and curbing old-age poverty....

This Selected Issues paper highlights importance of ensuring adequate and affordable pensions in Latvia. Latvia has a three-pillar pension system which combines an earnings-related public scheme, based on notional accounts, with a funded mandatory pillar and a private voluntary contributions...

The 2025 Article IV Consultation discusses that Latvia’s successful convergence to euro area income levels has slowed. Gross domestic product per capita has fallen behind, due to weak total factor productivity and limited capital deepening. The government faces growing fiscal demands from...

Latvia is a parliamentary State, where Parliament is the only legislator. This legislator, however, has the right to delegate legislative functions to the Cabinet of Ministers and to municipalities. Delegated legislative powers always have to be made explicit in the laws adopted by Parliament....

The Latvian banking sector presents a policy and institutional puzzle: it maintains high loan interest rates despite low loan-to-deposit ratios and limited lending activity within the European Union. Anchored in credit rationing theory, this study investigates the institutional, regulatory, and...

This research presents a comprehensive analysis and comparison of the startup ecosystems in Latvia, Ukraine, and Georgia. It identifies the key factors that foster their development and growth, and highlights the primary obstacles and challenges that confront startups in these countries. The...

The importance of human capital has been a subject of discussion for several centuries. Over time, various methods for its quantitative assessment have been developed, each offering its own insights into the role of human capital in economic growth of a country. The study focuses on the case of...

The research demonstrates that since 2007, the business incubator programs administered by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) have significantly boosted regional entrepreneurship in Latvia. These programs provide essential support to young entrepreneurs, promote employment,...

Latvia is a multi-ethnic country, although the proportion of the different ethnic groups among its population has varied. Ethnic origin is recorded in the population register. It is based on the ethnicity of either of a person's parents and can be changed upon reaching the age of majority by...

This study investigates wealth disparities between native and immigrant populations in Estonia and Latvia, focusing on individuals aged 60 years or older as the vast majority of immigrants in the Baltic region fall within this age group. We estimate the wealth differences between natives and...

Based on a unique data set from a large representative survey across several countries in Eastern Europe, we study awareness and support for domestic violence legislation, as well as knowledge about three recent reforms. We find important heterogeneity in several dimensions, in particular that...

The JRC has established a strong and productive partnership with Latvia in the fields of safety, chemicals and research on toxicology. Through this collaboration, the JRC has worked closely with Latvia's national authorities, research institutions and other stakeholders to exchange knowledge,...