The Yugo, a communist-era car from the former Yugoslavia, was widely ridiculed for shedding its parts on roads across Europe and the United States. Zastava, which made Yugo, fared even worse than its product. After the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, the factory was reduced to producing only...

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...

The European Commission's Directorate General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations approached the World Bank to develop an evidence base and to deliver policy advice and technical assistance for supporting the effective reintegration of (Roma) returnees in the Western Balkans: Albania,...

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...

Ambient air pollution (AAP) is a serious global health problem that accounts for an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide per year. People in Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans are frequently exposed to air pollution levels above those considered safe, particularly in the winter....

Following a decade of conflicts, Western Balkan countries accomplished robust economic growth in the 2000s. This growth pattern was domestic demand driven and externally financed, hence was hampered significantly by the global financial crisis and subsequent euro area debt crisis. Despite modest...

Growth in the six South East European countries (SEE6) rebounded to 2.1 percent in 2015, as investment revived. The SEE6 region is not only growing but also rebalancing to more durable sources of growth. While higher growth in 2015 brought new jobs in the private sector, and helped poverty...

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...

This report is the second in a series, presenting labor market developments in the Western Balkan countries in 2017 and comparing with selected member states of the European Union (EU). The report is the result of collaboration between the World Bank and the Vienna Institute for International...