Publication:
Bosnia and Herzegovina Country Economic Memorandum, January 2024

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dc.contributor.authorWorld Bank
dc.date.accessioned2024-02-13T19:58:09Z
dc.date.available2024-02-13T19:58:09Z
dc.date.issued2024-02-13
dc.description.abstractBosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have made significant development progress since the last Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) in 2005, most notably in obtaining EU candidate status in 2022. Despite persistent political tensions, the country has enjoyed nearly three decades of peace. The infrastructure, severely damaged during the 1990s, has been rebuilt, with ongoing investments in improving road and rail connectivity. The policymaking process involves elected officials navigating a complex, politically fragmented landscape, characterized by national quotas, ensuring representation for Bosnia’s, Croats, and Serbs. The representation of individuals who do not identify with any of these three national groups has not been resolved yet. These factors make BiH unique in Europe, rooted in the Dayton Agreement of 1995, which brought an end to a devastating war that claimed approximately 100,000 lives and displaced over half of the population. Now, almost two decades after the last Economic Memorandum, BiH features as an EU candidate country. Macroeconomic policies have tended to favor short-term objectives at the expense of long-term growth, with a focus on fostering consumption rather than investment. Current budget spending, particularly on public wages, pensions, and social benefits has constrained capital expenditure over the past 10-15 years. Consequently, public capital expenditures in both entities are limited, with only half the size in comparison to their Western Balkan peers. Furthermore, there is a discernable lack of coordination across the entities within sectors such as transport infrastructure, particularly railways and roads that contribute to important intermediate input distortions, as well as digital and energy infrastructure. Moreover, while sharing the same priorities as reflected in the socio-economic reform package, the speed of reform implementation differs across entities. Foreign direct investment inflows, meanwhile, remain insufficient, and significantly below regional peers. Thus, a shift towards structural and fiscal reforms with medium- to long-term benefits, such as a more efficient social transfer system using social cards, as well as higher and more coordinated capital expenditures across the entities could pave the way for higher productivity and thus a more competitive economy.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099020124082027528/P1786451605caa0c7190901416862909f68
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/41059
dc.identifier.urihttps://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/41059
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWashington, DC: World Bank
dc.rightsCC BY-NC 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/igo
dc.subjectMACROECONOMY
dc.subjectPRIVATE SECTOR
dc.subjectENERGY TRANSITION
dc.subjectGOVERNANCE
dc.titleBosnia and Herzegovina Country Economic Memorandum, January 2024en
dc.typeReport
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleBosnia and Herzegovina Country Economic Memorandum, January 2024
okr.date.disclosure2024-02-13
okr.date.lastmodified2024-02-06T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypeCountry Economic Memorandum
okr.doctypeEconomic & Sector Work
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099020124082027528/P1786451605caa0c7190901416862909f68
okr.guid099022724171515406
okr.guid099020124082027528
okr.identifier.docmidP178645-605caabb-1514-4bc7-9090-416862909f68
okr.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1596/41059
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum34253229
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum34253229
okr.identifier.report187405
okr.import.id3160
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099020124082027528/pdf/P1786451605caa0c7190901416862909f68.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeEurope and Central Asia
okr.region.countryBosnia and Herzegovina
okr.sectorCentral Government (Central Agencies)
okr.themeStructural Transformation and Economic Diversification,Mitigation,Job Creation,Economic Policy,State-owned Enterprise Reform and Privatization,Green Growth,Economic Growth and Planning,Environment and Natural Resource Management,Enterprise Development,Private Sector Development,Public Sector Management,Climate change,Jobs,Adaptation,Public Administration,Macroeconomic & Structural Policy Modelling,Global value chains
okr.topicMacroeconomics and Economic Growth::Economic Growth
okr.topicEnvironment::Adaptation to Climate Change
okr.topicPrivate Sector Development::Private Sector Economics
okr.unitEFI-ECA-MTI-MacroFiscal-2 (EECM2)
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