DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-082-5-0036

Spatial and Fiscal Dimensions of the Donut Effect in the Czech Republic

Hana Černá Silovská ORCID...¹, Martin Lukavec¹

¹ Prague University of Economics and Business, Department of Regional Studies, nám. W. Churchilla 1938/4, 130 67 Prague, Czech Republic

This paper investigates the donut (doughnut) effect in the Czech Republic during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on municipalities with authorized municipal offices in Bohemia. We examine shifts in population and housing demand between the years 2019 and 2021, a period significantly marked by pandemic-related disruptions. As migration data were unavailable, property price dynamics served as a proxy, based on 114,620 residential purchase transactions received from the Reas (real estate portal). Average price changes were calculated for 273 municipalities, ensuring sufficient observations while preserving geographic detail. The findings suggest spatial redistribution consistent with the donut effect: municipalities surrounding major urban cores such as Prague, Pilsen, Mladá Boleslav, and České Budějovice recorded stronger demand growth than the cores themselves. Regression analysis confirms the significance of labor market conditions, particularly unemployment, while population density effects appear less robust. Beyond demographic and housing dynamics, the study highlights potential fiscal implications for municipal budgets, infrastructure, and service provision. These aspects, however, are not analyzed in depth here and will be pursued in future research. This paper thus represents a first step toward a broader investigation of the donut effect in the Czech settlement system, laying the groundwork for understanding both its spatial and fiscal dimensions.

Keywords: Donut Effect, Czech Republic, Housing Demand, COVID-19, Municipalities, Fiscal Impact

pages: 36-44, online: 2026