The growth landscape of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is undermined by adverse productivity developments and weak private sector development. BiH is still finding a pathway to rebalance its current public sector-led growth model to a private sector-led one. In this light, enhancing innovation and...

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...

Despite significant progress in closing the gender gap in education, there is a significant disparity between male and female labor participation rates in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Among men aged 15 to 64 years, 65.7 percent participate in the labor force compared to only 41 percent of...

The aim of this case study is to qualitatively assess men and women's perceptions of economic mobility, access to labor market and entrepreneurship opportunities, and the impact of selected labor market and social assistance policies. Through the use of focus group discussions and...

This report provides a baseline analysis of the status of access to finance for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with a particular focus on women entrepreneur' ability and constraints in accessing finance in order to develop and grow their businesses. It is based on a...

Prospects for faster, more sustainable economic growth and higher living standards in Bosnia and Herzegovina rely on increasing employment opportunities for all. By maintaining the current structure of labor participation, Bosnia and Herzegovina is not capitalizing on its educated young...

What is the real character of fiscal policy? Is it expansionary or restrictive? Is it pro-cyclical or does it have stabilization effects? Policymakers and economic analysts need to be able to ascertain fiscal policy effort. As the actual budget balances are affected both by cyclical factors and...

This paper uses an extended cost-benefit analysis to estimate the distributional effect of tobacco tax increases in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The analysis considers the effect on household income of an increase in tobacco prices, changes in medical expenses, and the prolongation of working years...

The Roma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe, as well as one of the most deprived and socially excluded groups. Because of the lack of high-quality data, research on Roma inclusion to inform evidence-based policies is scarce, and accurate data on programs implemented in the Western Balkans...

This Report examines if and how expert witnesses impact the integrity, impartiality and efficiency of adjudication in four countries-Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The report is part of a broader World Bank initiative to raise awareness of reform...