The Western Balkans: Weak Performance since the Crisis

Marek Dabrowski and Yana Myachenkova
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Yana Myachenkova: Bruegel, Brussels

Acta Oeconomica, 2018, vol. 68, issue supplement2, 85-120

Abstract: In the early and mid-2000s, the prospect of EU accession and the global boom facilitated rapid economic recovery and boosted economic and institutional reforms in the Western Balkan region. The global financial crisis of 2007–2009 and the European crisis of 2010–2013 slowed the pace of economic growth and amplified high unemployment in the region. In addition, various unresolved legacies from past conflicts slowed the pace of reform and progress towards EU accession. The European Commission’s February 2018 communication sets an indicative deadline (2025) for the two most advanced candidates – Serbia’s and Montenegro’s admission to the EU. This could incentivise all Western Balkan countries, including those candidates that have not yet started membership negotiations (Macedonia and Albania) and those waiting for candidate status (Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo), to remove domestic political obstacles to EU accession, solve conflicts with neighbours, speed up reforms and accelerate economic growth.

Keywords: Western Balkans; global financial crisis; European Union; EU accession; economic integration; economic reforms; institutional reforms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E42 F15 F16 F21 F24 F32 F35 F51 H62 H63 I32 J64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
Note: This is a substantially expanded, revised and updated version of our paper published in the Bruegel Policy Contribution in 2018. The authors would like to thank Alexander Lehmann, J. Scott Marcus, André Sapir, Ben Slay, Alessio Terzi, Nicolas Véron, Guntram Wolff and Georg Zachmann for their comments on an earlier version of this paper. However, authors assume the full responsibility for its content. Opinions presented in this paper can be attributed solely to authors and not necessarily to institutions, which they are affiliated to.
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