In 2020 COVID-19 (coronavirus) plunged the Western Balkan countries, like the rest of the world, into deep recession. Economic activity contracted by an estimated 3.4 percent - the worst downturn on record. The primary causes were the drop in both domestic and foreign demand and disruptions in...

This is a semi-annual report series on recent economic developments and economic policies in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia). The report looks at the economic performance and outlook for the Western Balkans region and specific...

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...

Growth in the Western Balkans has strengthened to an estimated 3.5 percent. In most of the region, growth projections for 2018 have been revised upward. Growth was stimulated by higher public investment and consumption. Driven by tax reforms and faster growth, higher tax revenues created fiscal...

Improving the efficiency and equity of public spending and strengthening revenue mobilization remains a priority in all Western Balkan countries. Public sector wage bills and pensions constitute the largest share of public spending in the region. Tighter controls on wage bills, reducing tax...

In Spring 2020, Western Balkan countries - like most others in the world-have been forced to impose tight restrictions on economic life to contain the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. In the first half of 2020, the world has seen explosive growth of infections with the deadly novel virus. As...

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...

Economic growth in the Western Balkans slowed to 2.6 percent in 2023, from the 3.4 percent reached in 2022, reflecting the impact of a weak European economy weighed down by sequential shocks. Overall, the WB6 region has experienced a rise in total hours worked driven by employment growth and...

Just as the economies of the Western Balkans were looking to growth recovery beyond the pandemic, a new set of challenges confronted the region. The economies of the Western Balkans saw a strong growth rebound in 2021 with a broad-based bounce back in economic activity. Financial stability...