Suchergebnisse

In recent years, the violation of the principles that guarantee the respect of democratic norms and institutions has placed Serbia into the category of deficient democracies, and more recently in hybrid regimes. Since the beginning of the transition, the implementation of political and economic reforms in Serbia has been characterized by frequent shifts of periods with modest progress in the field of political and economic transformation with periods of stagnation and even backsliding in regards to the important reform segments. The indicators of political and economic reforms point to the strengthening of extractive institutions. Extractive institutions protect the economic and political interests of privileged groups to the detriment of the rest of society. This leaves fewer resources available to stimulate economic growth and job creation, with negative countereffects on the regime legitimacy and trust, which are crucial for the implementation of economic reforms. Serbia's failure to provide stronger economic growth is largely caused by extractive institutions that determine the business environment. The development of extractive institutions is indicated by the absence of a more even distribution of political power, weaknesses in the mechanisms of checks and balances, deficiencies in the sphere of the rule of law, widespread corruption, problems in the sphere of protection of property rights. The transitional developments in Serbia can be regarded as a historical heritage that adapts to the current social environment and has a great impact on institutional performance and democratic consolidation. Prolonged exposure to extractive institutions creates a cumulative effect of institutional learning, where individuals become vulnerable to political abuse, dependent on the state and unwilling to use political mechanisms of government accountability, contributing to a vicious circle of extractive political and economic institutions. Identifying the mechanisms of such accumulation, which include prolonged exposure to extractive institutions, as well as the transmission of cultural patterns from older generations who have long experience with extractive institutions, is a complex research task.

In recent years, the violation of the principles that guarantee the respect of democratic norms and institutions has placed Serbia into the category of deficient democracies, and more recently in hybrid regimes. Since the beginning of the transition, the implementation of political and economic reforms in Serbia has been characterized by frequent shifts of periods with modest progress in the field of political and economic transformation with periods of stagnation and even backsliding in regards to the important reform segments. The indicators of political and economic reforms point to the strengthening of extractive institutions. Extractive institutions protect the economic and political interests of privileged groups to the detriment of the rest of society. This leaves fewer resources available to stimulate economic growth and job creation, with negative countereffects on the regime legitimacy and trust, which are crucial for the implementation of economic reforms. Serbia's failure to provide stronger economic growth is largely caused by extractive institutions that determine the business environment. The development of extractive institutions is indicated by the absence of a more even distribution of political power, weaknesses in the mechanisms of checks and balances, deficiencies in the sphere of the rule of law, widespread corruption, problems in the sphere of protection of property rights. The transitional developments in Serbia can be regarded as a historical heritage that adapts to the current social environment and has a great impact on institutional performance and democratic consolidation. Prolonged exposure to extractive institutions creates a cumulative effect of institutional learning, where individuals become vulnerable to political abuse, dependent on the state and unwilling to use political mechanisms of government accountability, contributing to a vicious circle of extractive political and economic institutions. Identifying the mechanisms of such accumulation, which include prolonged exposure to extractive institutions, as well as the transmission of cultural patterns from older generations who have long experience with extractive institutions, is a complex research task.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics of civic participation in Serbia, as well as to test its relevance for the level of citizens' political involvement. For estimating the impact of the membership in civic associations on political party membership and non-conventional types of political activism, the non-parametric analyses of variance test, followed by post hoc testing has been employed. The main findings of the analysis suggest that civic participation is a significant predictor of political activism of Serbian citizens. The results of the empirical procedures indicate significant differences in the degree of political participation, based on the levels of citizens' engagement in community organizations. The implications of the study could serve as the grounds for designing policies aimed at strengthening civic society and creating incentives for citizens' active involvement in political life. ; Cilj rada je da istraži dinamiku građanske participacije u Srbiji, kao i da ispita njen uitcaj na političko angažovanje građana Srbije. Za ispitivanje uticaja članstva u građanskim udruženjima na članstvo u političkim partijama i nekonvencionalne oblike političkog aktivizma, primenjen je neparametarski test analize varijanse i post hoc test. Glavni nalazi istraživanja ukazuju da građanska participacija predstavlja značajan faktor političkog aktivizma građana Srbije. Rezultati empirijskih analiza ukazuju na značajne razlike u stepenu političke participacije, koje su zasnovane na razlikama u stepenu građanskog angažovanja u društvenim organizacijama. Implikacije ovog istraživanja mogu da predstavljaju osnov za kreiranje politika usmerenih ka jačanju građanskog društva i stvaranje podsticaja za aktivno učešće građana u političkom životu.

This paper presents an empirical contribution to the literature that tends to explain variations in corruption perceptions. Drawing on theoretical assumptions about the impact of corruption on the quality of the business environment, we explore possible determinants of perceived corruption. We argue that explaining the determinants of corruption perceptions could be a valuable input for creating effective anti-corruption policies. In the paper, we perform a detailed analysis on the case of Serbia, a transition country with relatively widespread corruption in the business environment. Using the non-parametric analysis of variance test, we examine the significance of differences in the perceived spread of corruption across a number of independent variables (regions, size of locality, industry, size, and years of operation). Specifying an ordered logistic regression model, we estimate the relation between corruption perceptions and a number of potential causes: frequencies of unofficial payments or gifts for different purposes, the impact that unofficial payments to public officials have on the business operations of the respondents, as well as attitudes of the respondents about the quality of the judicial system and political stability. We find that perceptions of corruption as an obstacle to business operations can be linked to the frequency of unofficial payments to deal with customs and taxes, as well as the impact of unofficial payments to local or regional government officials on business performance of the respondents. The results provide useful insights into what policy measures are necessary to reduce the level of corruption, as well as how the effects of such measures can be assessed.

Corruption is a complex social phenomenon with multiple negative effects on the socio-economic efficiency. Therefore, it is a subject of research in various social disciplines. In economic analysis, special attention is directed towards corruption measurement. Despite numerous attempts, this issue has not been completely resolved. Since corruption is a phenomenon that cannot be directly observed, its measurement is based on indirect signals and subjective perceptions. Key problems in measuring corruption relate to the lack of objective data, estimation errors and the problems of establishing a clear link between the measurement results and effective anti-corruption policies. The aim of this paper is to highlight the basic methodological problems and limitations in measuring corruption and provide a theoretical overview of the existing research in this field. ; Korupcija predstavlja složenu društvenu pojavu sa višestrukim negativnim efektima na društveno-ekonomsku efikasnost. Iz tog razloga, korupcija je predmet istraživanja različitih društvenih nauka. U okviru ekonomske nauke, posebna pažnja usmerena je na merenje korupcije. Uprkos brojnim pokušajima, ovo pitanje nije još uvek u potpunosti razjašnjeno. Pošto korupciju nije moguće direktno meriti, merenje ove pojave zasniva se na indirektnim observacijama i subjektivnim percepcijama. Ključni problemi u merenju korupcije odnose se na nedostatak objektivnih podataka, greške u merenjima i teškoće u uspostavljanju jasne veze između rezultata merenja i efektivnih politika borbe protiv korupcije. Cilj ovog rada je da ukaže na osnovne metodološke probleme i ograničenja u merenju korupcije, kao i da pruži jedinstven teorijski pregled dosadašnjih istraživanja iz ove oblasti.

Trust in political institutions is very important for the stability of society and functioning of democracy, that is, for the legitimacy of democratic regime. The question of legitimacy is especially important for the consolidation of new democracies, such as Western Balkan countries. Since trust in political institutions determines citizens' willingness to comply with the decisions of these institutions, as well as governability of modern society, vicious circle could develop where low level of trust in political institutions impedes their efficient functioning, contributing to further decline of trust. Starting from the importance of trust in political institutions for the normal functioning of society, this paper explores the levels of trust in these institutions over time in Western Balkan countries, in order to establish whether existing levels of trust could represent an obstacle to governance and further consolidation of democracy.

The aim of this paper is to investigate, on the basis of comparative analysis of social capital development in Western Balkan countries, the avail-ability of different forms of social capital and to identify segments of social capital that represent obstacles to the faster development of these countries. The need for research on social capital in the Balkan countries is conditioned by the fact that apparent differences in the economic performance of these countries, despite more or less similar reform programs, cannot be explained solely by traditional growth factors. Heterogeneity of economic success of these economies is to a great extent determined by the socio-economic structure in which economic institutions are embedded. Balkan countries cannot base their development plans solely on the increase of human and physical capital, but must provide high-quality institutional environment. The results of comparative analysis show the specificity of social capital in the Western Balkan countries, which could in brief be described as a lack of trust in institutions and generalized trust, which stands in the way of improving the economic and institutional efficiency, and strong informal networks (i.e. network capital), which in most cases represent an obstacle to the reform processes.

The paper explores the mismatch between the skills and qualifications required by the labour market and those acquired through education and on-the-job learning. The skill mismatch in transition economies tends to be even more pronounced as the labour markets in these countries are characterized by structural unemployment, affecting both older workers with obsolete skills and the young ones. Employers face poor incentives for investing in workforce skill development, due to the inadequate investment climate and volatile business environment. Transition countries face increasing outward mobility of an educated workforce, loss of human capital, and shortage of workforce in the fields such as ICT, medicine, science and research. The research is based on empirical data generated in a survey on ICT and manufacturing enterprises in the City of Niš, Serbia. The research methodology combines workers' self-assessment method for the skill gap measurement and the competence approach combined with the statistical methods. The findings indicate the presence of a qualification mismatch, in the form of the over-qualification as a dominant irregularity in the analysed labour market. The results of the study are expected to contribute to creating a network of policy instrumentaria that tend to be effective on a sub-national level in addressing the mismatch.

The paper explores the role of education in preventing social exclusion in the Western Balkan countries. Given that education is considered as one of the factors of social exclusion, the paper tests the hypothesis that access to education and training determines the process of inclusion of individuals in social activities. In this regard, we investigate the importance of the level of education for individuals' perceptions of social exclusion, their participation in the activities of community organizations, and the intensity of their civic and political engagement. Statistical analysis of empirical data (analysis of variance, post hoc analysis) from the Third European Quality of Life Survey confirms that there is a statistically significant impact of education level on the processes of social inclusion. In particular, for all forms of social activities there are statistically significant differences in mean indicator values between individuals with primary, secondary, and tertiary education.

The paper explores the mismatch between the skills and qualifications required by the labour market and those acquired through education and on-the-job learning. The skill mismatch in transition economies tends to be even more pronounced as the labour markets in these countries are characterized by structural unemployment, affecting both older workers with obsolete skills and the young ones. Employers face poor incentives for investing in workforce skill development, due to the inadequate investment climate and volatile business environment. Transition countries face increasing outward mobility of an educated workforce, loss of human capital, and shortage of workforce in the fields such as ICT, medicine, science and research. The research is based on empirical data generated in a survey on ICT and manufacturing enterprises in the City of Niš, Serbia. The research methodology combines workers' self-assessment method for the skill gap measurement and the competence approach combined with the statistical methods. The findings indicate the presence of a qualification mismatch, in the form of the over-qualification as a dominant irregularity in the analysed labour market. The results of the study are expected to contribute to creating a network of policy instrumentaria that tend to be effective on a sub-national level in addressing the mismatch. ; Ovaj rad istražuje neusklađenost između vještina i kvalifikacija koje zahtijeva tržište rada i onih koje se stječu obrazovanjem i učenjem na radnom mjestu. Neusklađenost vještina u tranzicijskim gospodarstvima ima tendenciju da bude još izraženija budući da tržišta rada u tim zemljama karakterizira strukturna nezaposlenost, koja istovremeno pogađa i starije radnike sa zastarjelim vještinama i mlade. Poslodavci se suočavaju s lošim poticajima za ulaganje u razvoj vještina radne snage zbog neodgovarajuće investicijske klime i nestabilnog poslovnog okruženja. Zemlje u tranziciji suočavaju se sa sve većom vanjskom mobilnošću obrazovane radne snage, gubitkom ljudskog kapitala i nedostatkom radne snage u područjima kao što su ICT, medicina, znanost i istraživanje. Istraživanje se temelji na empirijskim podacima prikupljenim u anketi o ICT-u i proizvodnim poduzećima u gradu Nišu u Srbiji. Metodologija istraživanja kombinira metodu samoprocjene radnika za mjerenje jaza u vještinama i pristup temeljen na kompetencijama u kombinaciji sa statističkim metodama. Nalazi ukazuju na prisutnost kvalifikacijske neusklađenosti, u vidu prekvalificiranosti za posao kao dominantne nepravilnosti na analiziranom tržištu rada. Očekuje se da će rezultati studije doprinijeti stvaranju mreže političkih instrumenata koji imaju tendenciju da budu učinkoviti na podnacionalnoj razini u rješavanju neusklađenosti.

Abstract
Economic growth and competitiveness are usually analysed at the level of the national economy in traditional economic research. The problem of competitiveness within this line of thought is mainly regarded from the perspective of determining the sources of sustainable growth, which makes the economy more competitive than others. Competitiveness, therefore, is a multidimensional concept, which includes a range of factors, such as institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, market, human capital and technological development. Also, the process of joining the European Union significantly stimulates the development of the exact categories that are relevant for acceleration of the economic development. The aim of the paper is to assess the competitiveness of the candidate or potential candidate countries for membership in the European Union, through a comparative analysis of their competitiveness vis-à-vis EU countries. The results indicate that the competitiveness of the EU 15 countries, measured by Global Competitiveness Index and GDP per capita, is statistically significantly higher than the competitiveness of EU country group enlarged in the period 2004-2013, also compared to EU candidate or potential candidate countries. However, when it comes to the pillar of competitiveness related to the macroeconomic environment, according to the latest Global Competitiveness Report (2017-2018), the scores of the EU countries associated with enlargements in the period 2004-2013 are statistically significantly better than the EU 15 countries.