This paper examines current account developments in different country groups amongst the lower- and medium-income European economies (LMIEs) both prior to the crisis and following it. The Baltic countries, the Western Balkan as well as the Southern EU countries (Greece, Portugal and Spain)...

The aim of this study is to analyse the state of the competitiveness of seven Western Balkan economies and to suggest policy recommendations in order to increase their capacity to compete. Most countries from the Western Balkans have a persistent current account deficit of about 10% of GDP which...

Die meisten Westbalkanländer haben ein hohes und in der Regel persistentes Leistungsbilanzdefizit von annähernd 10% des BIP. Reduktionen des Leistungsbilanzdefizits der letzten Jahre sind vor allem auf krisenhafte Importzurückhaltung zurückzuführen. Das durchschnittliche Westbalkanland (im...

The protracted recession in the euro area will continue to be a drag on the economic growth of most CESEE countries in 2013. By and large, those countries are small open economies held hostage to the excessive fiscal austerity pursued in the euro area and the sluggish progress on the part of its...

This paper analyses developments in production structures in pre-crisis and during the crisis years in the range of EU "peripheral economies" (i.e. the lower- and medium-income economies in the South and the Centre/East). The emphasis is on the development of the tradable sector (and...