We use a growth diagnostic approach to analyse the main impediments to investment and growth in Serbia. We look at a wide set of quantitative and qualitative indicators to understand if businesses are constrained by access to finance or if they forgo investment opportunities because they cannot...

This paper provides an overview of private sector activity and investment in south-eastern Europe (SEE). The importance of the private sector is growing in all countries of the region. The private sector is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and much economic activity takes...

We analyse the extent and evolution of informality and inequality in the Serbian labour market between 2002 and 2007, using data from the Living Standard Measurement Surveys (LSMS). Two surprising results emerge. First, the level of informal employment has risen significantly over the period,...

A positive link between progress in market-oriented reforms and cumulative growth has been recorded across transition countries. Some less reform-minded countries, however, have also grown strongly in recent years. This paper examines whether there is a robust causal impact of reforms on growth,...

Low-income households spend a substantial share of their income on utility services such as electricity, heating and water. The difficulty these socially vulnerable consumers have in affording further tariff increases is often used as an argument against tariff reform. However, detailed...

This paper uses monthly data to examine the links between consumer confidence and real economic variables in Croatia, and it tests whether movements in the former contain predictive power for the latter. The results suggest that changes in consumer confidence help to explain retail turnover and...

This paper sifts through a variety of competitiveness and business environment indicators to assess the state of reforms in south-eastern Europe (SEE). While common themes emerge, such as corruption, weak tax administration and the lack of availability of skills, there is a clear gap between...

This paper examines monetary policy in Albania during the transition period. Various channels through which monetary policy can affect prices and output are identified and their relative importance is assessed. Estimates from a vector autoregression model (VAR) of key macroeconomic variables...

This paper examines the different strategies adopted by individuals in transition economies to cope with labour market restructuring. Using micro-data from seven countries at different stages of transition, we focus on “active” coping strategies, in particular mobility and entrepreneurship....

This paper analyses the results from a survey conducted in 1999 of more than 100 enterprises in Albania. The main finding of the survey is that registered businesses regard competition from the informal sector as the most important problem they face in doing business. Unregistered firms have a...