Western Balkans Regular Economic Report, No. 16, Fall 2019 : Rising Uncertainties
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. T...
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/643781570478210132/Rising-Uncertainties http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32532 |
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okr-10986-325322021-09-16T14:42:39Z Western Balkans Regular Economic Report, No. 16, Fall 2019 : Rising Uncertainties World Bank ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC OUTLOOK EXPORTS EMPLOYMENT PUBLIC FINANCE FISCAL TRENDS ACCESS TO FINANCE RISKS EUROBONDS FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT PUBLIC EXPENDITURE MONETARY POLICY INFLATION 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 expenditures, and better targeting of social benefits would open space for more public investment, improve equity, and enable the build-up of fiscal buffers to mitigate rising risks. As outlined in this report, fiscal rules can help anchor spending and fiscal sustainability. However, their credibility in the region needs to be restored after they have been repeatedly breached in some countries. Fiscal management reforms are needed as a part of broader structural reforms that help increase the region's export competitiveness. This includes strengthening state institutions that protect the rule of law and private sector competition to unleash productivity growth and innovation by enabling a level playing field between firms. Together, these reforms would help unlock stronger, more equitable, and more sustainable growth, ensuring faster convergence with EU income levels. A strong commitment to sound macro-fiscal policy and structural reforms was always important—rising uncertainties have made it an imperative. 2019-10-16T16:09:33Z 2019-10-16T16:09:33Z 2019-10-01 Report http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/643781570478210132/Rising-Uncertainties http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32532 English CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Economic & Sector Work :: Economic Updates and Modeling Economic & Sector Work Europe and Central Asia Eastern Europe Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Kosovo North Macedonia (Formerly the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) Montenegro Serbia |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC OUTLOOK EXPORTS EMPLOYMENT PUBLIC FINANCE FISCAL TRENDS ACCESS TO FINANCE RISKS EUROBONDS FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT PUBLIC EXPENDITURE MONETARY POLICY INFLATION |
| spellingShingle |
ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC OUTLOOK EXPORTS EMPLOYMENT PUBLIC FINANCE FISCAL TRENDS ACCESS TO FINANCE RISKS EUROBONDS FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT PUBLIC EXPENDITURE MONETARY POLICY INFLATION World Bank Western Balkans Regular Economic Report, No. 16, Fall 2019 : Rising Uncertainties |
| geographic_facet |
Europe and Central Asia Eastern Europe Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Kosovo North Macedonia (Formerly the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) Montenegro Serbia |
| description |
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 expenditures, and better targeting of
social benefits would open space for more public investment,
improve equity, and enable the build-up of fiscal buffers to
mitigate rising risks. As outlined in this report, fiscal
rules can help anchor spending and fiscal sustainability.
However, their credibility in the region needs to be
restored after they have been repeatedly breached in some
countries. Fiscal management reforms are needed as a part of
broader structural reforms that help increase the
region's export competitiveness. This includes
strengthening state institutions that protect the rule of
law and private sector competition to unleash productivity
growth and innovation by enabling a level playing field
between firms. Together, these reforms would help unlock
stronger, more equitable, and more sustainable growth,
ensuring faster convergence with EU income levels. A strong
commitment to sound macro-fiscal policy and structural
reforms was always important—rising uncertainties have made
it an imperative. |
| format |
Report |
| author |
World Bank |
| author_facet |
World Bank |
| author_sort |
World Bank |
| title |
Western Balkans Regular Economic Report, No. 16, Fall 2019 : Rising Uncertainties |
| title_short |
Western Balkans Regular Economic Report, No. 16, Fall 2019 : Rising Uncertainties |
| title_full |
Western Balkans Regular Economic Report, No. 16, Fall 2019 : Rising Uncertainties |
| title_fullStr |
Western Balkans Regular Economic Report, No. 16, Fall 2019 : Rising Uncertainties |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Western Balkans Regular Economic Report, No. 16, Fall 2019 : Rising Uncertainties |
| title_sort |
western balkans regular economic report, no. 16, fall 2019 : rising uncertainties |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2019 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/643781570478210132/Rising-Uncertainties http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32532 |
| _version_ |
1764476739260514304 |