Ageing of population and demographic consequences in future labour market trends

Ageing of population in Serbia will lead to considerable decrease in labour force in the next fifty years. Such demographic transition will cause certain economic effects. The shift in working age population structure will lead to reduced activity rates and increased dependency ratios. Furthermore, as a consequence of demographic changes, the pressure on public finances will become more intensive in years to come. Moreover, the economic development and future employment rate during the intensive ageing, would very much depend on needed structural economic changes towards the industrial production. In order to strengthen and enhance the labour force, government will have to promote life-long learning programmes and active policy measures, combining them with reforms in several vital economic sectors

Mergers and acquisitions in banking sector: the case of Western Balkan countries

The reform process that took place in the Western Balkan countries attracted the penetration of the international banks. European banks entered the markets predominately through acquisitions of the local state-owned and private banks. The M&A activities triggered by the European banks played an important part in changing of the banking sectors in the Balkan countries in terms of consolidation, market concentration and competition in banking sector, financial intermediation development and landing allocation. As a result of international banks penetration, banking sectors of the Western Balkan countries encountered with significant changes. In particular, M&A transactions have been the direct cause for the overall decrease in the number of financial institutions and for the substantial growth in foreign banks proportion in the total assets. Although the decline in interest rate spreads, as an indication of increase of competition in all observed countries, is noticeable during the past decade, the interest rate spreads are still much higher than on the European markets. The expansion of lending activity in three western Balkan countries was mainly due to an increase in credits to private households rather than to the companies, which is unproductive use of the financial sources

Analysis of the development of small and medium enterprises in the agro-food system of Serbia

The importance of agriculture to the national economy and economic stability of Serbia is great considering the fact that it makes a substantial part of the Gross domestic product. At the same time, the abundance of natural resources in Serbia, favorable geographic and climatic conditions and skilled labor force are resources which can make the local agriculture more competitive in the global market. The sector of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) stands out as an important factor in the economic growth and development of the countries in transition. Due to its numerous advantages over the large enterprises, such enterprises can accelerate the process of transition, increase the investment rate and reduce unemployment rate which is usually very high in the developing countries. Economic development of our country is based to a certain extent on the development of the SME sector which has a particularly important role in the agribusiness sector. This paper aims to provide an analysis of the SME sector in Serbia with the special focus on the agro-food system and its characteristics in the agriculture and food industry. Strengthening this sector will mean better business conditions in the Serbian economy, and the measures taken within economic and agricultural policies should be aimed at fostering innovation and competitiveness of small and medium enterprises

Developments in the available inequality indexes for the Western Balkan countries: trends in the last 10 years

In this chapter we analyse the level of inequality in Western Balkan countries, particularly in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, during the past ten years. Inequality is one of the main challenges both for the economic theory and economies of the world today. Wage gaps widened and household income inequality increased in a large majority of OECD countries in the three decades before the recent economic crisis. Before the economic crises countries of Western Balkan region recorded economic growth. There was an increase in GNI per capita and HDI all over the region. The data on inequality in western Balkan countries are scarce – they are not available for all countries for the whole period 2001-2011. According to available data Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia belong to the group of the countries with low level of inequality, while Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have medium level of inequality. The highest levels of Gini coefficient over the period are present in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia. While in Serbia this indicator decreased and in Montenegro it was stable, in other countries it slightly increased over a period

Working potential of the elders in Serbia and proposal of reactivation models

The case studies of this paper are representative demographic indicators, as well as the parameters of labour markets structure, that address the issue of population aging. A special part of the analysis refers to the study of specific determinants in the segment of the elderly population (pensioners), in order to create a clearer picture of their possible socio-economic potential. The average age of the population of Serbia in the past five decades has increased by over ten years – which is an alarming fact that points out the issue of aging of the population of Serbia as the primary long-term problem. Consequentially, this actualizes the idea of assessing the working potential of the elderly population and the possibility of their activation, where the targeted group of pensioners age from 51 to 65 years. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to advise on the reactivation of the oldest population, based on the analysis of demographic indicators and anticipation of market trends, and thus contrive their economic potential in the labour market in Serbi

Trade and EU accession: the case of Serbia

This paper analyzes the export competitiveness of Serbia vis-a-vis European Union and the possible trade effects of Serbian EU accession scenario. We have observed several macroeconomic variables for determining the etternal position of Serbia. The trade effects of Serbia’s EU accession scenario are evaluated using the partial equilibrium Global Simulation Model

SME sector as a growth factor of employment in Serbia

Unemployment is the biggest economic and social problem facing the economy of Serbia. Its chronic presence causes a decrease in gross domestic product (GDP) and undermines social stability and quality of life. Given the fact that numerous social, economic, demographic and political problems emerge as the results of its effects, tackling of high unemployment requires a combination of different policies and strategies. One of the ways to lower unemployment in Serbia is creation of a business environment that stimulates entrepreneurship development encouraging in such a way formation of small and medium-sized enterprises. Taking into account that potential of SME sector in Serbia is not fully used, the goal of this paper is to identify the main barriers that hinder the development of entrepreneurship and due to its great presence prevent more significant contribution of SMEs to employment growth

Koncept aktivnog starenja i smanjenje marginalizacije starije populacije

Poslednjih nekoliko decenija evidentan je trend povećanja udela osoba starijih od 60 godina na svetskom nivou, što je posledica smanjenja fertiliteta, ali i produženja očekivanog trajanja života novorođenčadi. U skladu sa tim, izvesno je da će finansijska održivost sistema socijalnog osiguranja većine zemalja sveta u narednom periodu u velikoj meri biti dovedena u pitanje. Mnoge razvijene evropske zemlje u poslednjih nekoliko decenija sprovele su reforme prvenstveno u okviru sistema penzijskog osiguranja, ali i u domenu reaktivacije starije populacije. Uzimajući u obzir da Srbija predstavlja jednu od najstarijih nacija na svetu i da se finansijski pritisci na održivost domaćeg penzijskog sistema već sada osećaju u velikoj meri, od izuzetne je važnosti sagledati mere koje su razvijene evropske zemlje preduzele u tom domenu i razmotriti mogućnosti njihove implementacije u domaćem zakonodavstvu. Pored toga, u radu je sagledan značaj implementacije i promocije koncepta aktivnog starenja, odnosno smanjenja marginalizacije starije populacije u Srbiji

Foreign direct investment in agriculture sector - case study of Republic of Serbia

This paper investigates the current situation and problems in agricultural sector of Republic of Serbia. Agriculture has been in crisis for many years due to unfavourable policy design. The research focus is on determining the FDI volume in agricultural sector of Serbia and assessing its impact on the sector development. We examine the structure, dynamics and origin of FDI in period of 2005-2011. The relationship between agricultural sector FDI and sector’s GDP output is evaluated using the capital coefficient. Finally, we examine the Serbian market attractiveness for the foreign investors and observe the possibilities of agriculture sector development through FDI

Sistem zaštite životne sredine i aktivnosti upravljanja otpadom u poljoprivredi Republike Srbije

Savremeni načini poslovanja privrednih subjekata širom sveta podrazumevaju realizaciju aktivnosti koje neminovno generišu negativne efekte. Bez obzira da li se radi o emisiji štetnih gasova, generisanju otpada biljnog i životinjskog porekla ili zagađivanje voda, njihovi krajnji efekti utiču na kvalitet ljudskog života pri čemu mogu postati i uzročnici brojnih bolesti koje pogađaju stanovništvo. Jedan od zadatak nadležnih institucija javnog sektora jeste podizanje svesti stanovništva o značaju zaštite životne sredine i upoznavanju sa posledicama koje njeno narušavanje sa sobom nosi. Cilj rada jeste analiza tekućih aktivnosti i sagledavanje strateških pravaca u politici zaštite životne sredine u Republici Srbiji. Pre svega, biće razmatrani izdaci iz budžeta Republike Srbije kao vid podrške aktivnostima u oblasti zaštite životne sredine uz osvrt na izdatke koje zemlje iz Evropske Unije imaju u iste svrhe. Osim sistema zaštite životne sredine, biće analizirana i politika upravljanja otpadom, posebno u domenu poljoprivrede. Obzirom da je ova privredna grana jedna od potencijalnih izvora privrednog rasta, rešavanje problema poljoprivrednog otpada ne samo da može poboljšati kvalitet životne sredine već može uticati na pojavu novih proizvoda nastalih reciklažom ove vrste otpada