Publication:
Western Balkans Regular Economic Report No. 25, Spring 2024: Invigorating Growth

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dc.contributor.authorWorld Bank
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-11T14:47:10Z
dc.date.available2024-04-11T14:47:10Z
dc.date.issued2024-04-11
dc.description.abstractEconomic growth in the Western Balkans slowed to 2.6 percent in 2023, from the 3.4 percent reached in 2022, reflecting the impact of a weak European economy weighed down by sequential shocks. Overall, the WB6 region has experienced a rise in total hours worked driven by employment growth and labor force expansion, especially driven by women joining the labor force. Poverty in the Western Balkans returned to its declining trend during 2023, but at a slower pace than pre-pandemic. A robust fiscal performance and solid rate of gross domestic product (GDP) growth led to a fall in debt as a share of GDP. After increasing to levels not seen in several decades, inflation rates in the WB6 fell significantly during 2023. Growth projections for the medium term have increased slightly, reflecting cautious optimism that, having weathered a flurry of shocks over recent years, the Western Balkans is beginning to see a return to trend economic performance. However, while the WB6 region is expected to return on its pre-pandemic trend in 2024, this is insufficient to enable meaningful convergence with European Union (EU) income levels over the medium term. The spotlight in this edition of the Western Balkans Regular Economic Report focuses on the role of cities as engines of growth and leading actor in the green transition. This spotlight recommends action on three main fronts to make cities in the Western Balkans greener. First, it is crucial to reduce urban sprawl and make cities more compact. Second, cities must bring down their emissions, also because this will have immediate improvement on socio-economic and environmental outcomes. And third, cities must take actions to reduce extreme urban heat and enhance preparedness for it.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099040524061582128/P5006481fb98fb0db1a9401e200293e761d
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/41404
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/41404
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.subjectWESTERN BALKANS
dc.subjectEMPLOYMENT GROWTH
dc.subjectFISCAL CONSOLIDATION
dc.subjectPOVERTY REDUCTION
dc.subjectINFLATION
dc.subjectNO POVERTY
dc.subjectSDG 1
dc.titleWestern Balkans Regular Economic Report No. 25, Spring 2024en
dc.title.subtitleInvigorating Growthen
dc.typeReport
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleWestern Balkans Regular Economic Report No. 25, Spring 2024: Invigorating Growth
okr.date.disclosure2024-04-11
okr.date.lastmodified2024-04-05T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypeEconomic & Sector Work
okr.doctypeEconomic & Sector Work::Economic Updates and Modeling
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099040524061582128/P5006481fb98fb0db1a9401e200293e761d
okr.guid099040524061582128
okr.identifier.docmidP500648-fb98fb96-5704-48db-a940-e200293e761d
okr.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1596/41404
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum34298816
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum34298816
okr.identifier.report188979
okr.import.id3870
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099040524061582128/pdf/P5006481fb98fb0db1a9401e200293e761d.pdfen
okr.region.countryAlbania
okr.region.countryBosnia and Herzegovina
okr.region.countryKosovo
okr.region.countryNorth Macedonia (Formerly the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)
okr.region.countryMontenegro
okr.region.countrySerbia
okr.region.geographicalEurope
okr.region.geographicalEastern Europe
okr.topicMacroeconomics and Economic Growth::Economic Forecasting
okr.topicMacroeconomics and Economic Growth::Economic Development
okr.topicMacroeconomics and Economic Growth::Inflation
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Poverty Monitoring & Analysis
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Moving Out of Poverty
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Poverty Assessment
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Poverty Diagnostics
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Poverty Reduction Strategies
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Poverty and Policy
okr.topicUrban Development::Urban Poverty
okr.unitEFI-ECA-MTI-MacroFiscal-2 (EECM2)
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