The economic recovery in CESEE has strengthened further in recent months, resulting in a number of additional upgrades to our growth forecasts for 2021, to 5.4% on the regional average. This good performance has been built on two important foundation stones: the adaptation of the CESEE economies...

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...