As elsewhere in the world, in the Western Balkans the COVID-19 pandemic has plunged countries into deep recession. Because of the recession, labor market conditions have taken a turn for the worse and welfare improvements have been interrupted, although government response measures cushioned the...

GDP growth in the Western Balkans slowed from 3.1 percent in 2016 to an estimated 2.4 percent in 2017. Regional growth in 2017 is less optimistic than the 2.6 percent expected when the Fall issue of this report was published. It slowed in Serbia due to a harsh winter and stalled in FYR...