Suchergebnisse

The existence of a legal framework for the protection of competition is "condicione sine qua non" for the modern market economy and fair market game in every industry. The purpose of this research is to analyze competition policy in the banking sector in Serbia and compare it with EU regulations to find out if the Serbian banking competition policy is aligned with EU standards. In this empirical research comparative analysis method has been applied. On the ground of received results, the empirical research shows that competition policy in the Serbian banking sector is moderately harmonized with EU rules.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, a wide range of short-term fiscal, monetary and macroprudential measures have been implemented. The aim of this research is to compare the effects of the package of economic measures implemented in the EU-27 countries and the Republic of Serbia in 2020 according to several criteria, starting from factors which had the impact on the amount of economic aid package to assessing short-term effects on economic activity, labour market and public debt. The results of the research showed that the financial value of the economic aid package in 2020 reflects, above all, the economic capacity and relative wealth of the country, rather than the depth of the crisis that the countries faced. A positive interdependence was found between the financial amount of the economic measures package and the amount of public debt as a percentage of GDP, while a negative interdependence was found between the change in unemployment rate and the volume of economic package aid as a share of GDP. Based on the available data, it is still not possible to determine the positive statistical impact of the economic package aid on economic growth. Such findings are also expected because the measures were primarily tailored to preserve the liquidity of the economy and employment. Besides, a certain period of time is needed for the measures to take effect, which may explain the discrepancy between the amount of aid and the depth of economic activity in 2020. The data showed that the Serbian economy, unlike the Eurozone, recorded moderate debt growth and adequate capitalized banking sector is resistant to credit risk growth.

China has long been the world's second largest economy, with the largest foreign exchange reserves and the second largest share in world trade. However, its position in the global economy has long been recognized, but this recognition has not been accompanied by the international monetary significance of the yuan. Despite China's economic significance, the political importance and the voting power in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cannot be compared to that of the U.S. because the U.S. has over 17% of the votes, whereas China has 3.8 %. Owing to that, the U.S., together with its allies, gets to block decisions and tailor global economic policy. Striving to establish the world's reserve currency, China has been leading comprehensive economic and trade policies while strengthening the yuan convertibility. As a result, effective October 1, 2016, the yuan has become a reserve currency in the basket of special drawing rights along with the dollar, the euro, the yen, and the British pound. China has been supporting the IMF reform while establishing new institutions aimed at redefining the current international policy under the strong influence of the U.S. The paper analyses the channels of Chinese authorities' actions and the prospect of recomposing the international monetary system and reducing the global U.S. influence, with the aim of identifying whether it is likely that the Chinese currency will obtain the status of the world currency.

China has long been the world's second largest economy, with the largest foreign exchange reserves and the second largest share in world trade. However, its position in the global economy has long been recognized, but this recognition has not been accompanied by the international monetary significance of the yuan. Despite China's economic significance, the political importance and the voting power in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cannot be compared to that of the U.S. because the U.S. has over 17% of the votes, whereas China has 3.8 %. Owing to that, the U.S., together with its allies, gets to block decisions and tailor global economic policy. Striving to establish the world's reserve currency, China has been leading comprehensive economic and trade policies while strengthening the yuan convertibility. As a result, effective October 1, 2016, the yuan has become a reserve currency in the basket of special drawing rights along with the dollar, the euro, the yen, and the British pound. China has been supporting the IMF reform while establishing new institutions aimed at redefining the current international policy under the strong influence of the U.S. The paper analyses the channels of Chinese authorities' actions and the prospect of recomposing the international monetary system and reducing the global U.S. influence, with the aim of identifying whether it is likely that the Chinese currency will obtain the status of the world currency.

The aim of this paper is to define whether the entrepreneurship policy is efficient enough and whether the Government of the Republic of Serbia has created preconditions for entrepreneurship development. The research is based on quantitative and qualitative analysis. The quantitative analysis covered the indicators, such as: the share of SMEs in the basic indicators of economic activity (gross domestic product, employment and gross value added), the level of profit and profit margins of SMEs, share of SMEs in foreign trade, structure of SMEs by sectors, business demography, etc. The qualitative analysis is based on the analysis of policy implementation, which could be studied through country rating by different methodologies (Doing Business list, Global Competiveness Report, Global Entrepreneurship Index). The research results showed that the biggest problem for entrepreneurs in Serbia is still an inadequate business climate and affordability of financial services. The recommendations are defined as concrete economic measures, which have practical implications.

For decades, the US economy have had a chronic current account deficit, which is a consequence of the high trade balance deficit. The highest value of the current account deficit was recorded in 2006 (798.5 billion USD), when the Chinese share in US trade deficit was 32%. Hence, there is a discussion about sustainability of the US trade deficit, as well as the debate about the most important perpetrator for global trade imbalances. China is accused because of the high saving level and depressed currency policy. On the other side, US used the historic privilege of USD as world reserve currency to build a cult of consumption economy. This paper aims to reconsider these statements and, based on the cause analysis of the disequilibrium, define not only the main levers, but also the instruments which can be used for neutralization of this global imbalance. The analysis for each country covers the period 2000-2013 and includes many variables, e.g. current account deficit, savings, investment, interest rate level, etc. The research showed that China brought the referent down interest rate with the investment of excess liquidity, and that the FED did not use any other instrument as a defence of the interest rate level. The FED prescribed the required reserve level, but it failed to respect the rules. The reserve level was allowed to be reduced and thus enabled money supply expansion and low interest rate level.

In the South East Europe countries, bank loans are common and the most important form of financing, due to still underdeveloped financial market. The banks in these countries gained a considerable amount of foreign funds and play a prominent role in the growth of local economy. Given that banks grant loans based on investments of foreign capital and domestic deposits, the aim of this paper is to determine the importance of domestic sources of financing for the economic growth in the period after the reduction of foreign investments. The survey was conducted on a sample of eight selected countries of South East Europe (Western Balkans along with three countries that became members of the European Union during 2007­2012 - Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania - SEE-8). The panel data model was applied, where the GDP growth rate was taken as the dependent variable, while the analyzed independent variables were growth rates of the following parameters: assets, loan capacity, the participation of loans in GDP, loan capacity of the population, deposit capacity, deposit of the population, participation of household deposits in total deposit liabilities. The research results indicate that the growth rate of assets, the growth rate of household deposits and the growth rate of retail deposits have a positive impact on economic growth, while the share of loans in GDP, the growth rate of loans to households and the growth rate of deposit capacity have a negative impact on economic growth in SEE-8.

Structural reforms in the water sector have been initiated during the last two decades. This trend has resulted in numerous transformations. In accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, one of the priorities of the reform is to establish sustainable funding, i.e. introduce the economic price of water. The Serbian water sector is only at the beginning of the reforms. The central question of the paper is volume of investments and investment dynamics into water resources in Serbia, for the next twenty years. The price of water is one of the main determinants of investment growth. Given the increasing number of important factors for the price of water, this paper presents three long-term scenarios of growth of the economic price of water.

PE Elektroprivreda Srbije (Electric Power Industry of Serbia - PE EPS) is of a strategic importance for national economy. Long-term policy of depressed electricity price has caused a number of distortions, mainly through direct impact on the operations of EPS and a number of other effects such as irrational consumption, high energy intensity, low charges, high level of technical and commercial losses, etc. Serbia still has the lowest electricity price in Europe, but regulated price model provides a certain profit level for EPS. The aim of this paper is to show the potential that the electric power industry as a branch can have if the Government provides the conditions for its sustainable operation.

This paper is analyses causes and the consequences of a speculative investment carry trade strategy in the exchange market in Serbia. The presence of such type of investor is related to high yields of risk free securities denominated in dinars, as well as the perception of future movements of dinar exchange rate related to currency that serves as source of investment. The consequences of carry trade may significantly influence exchange rate movements when monetary policy has limited facilities to combat negative and sudden shocks.

Background: The paper aims at gaining insight into the implementation of the process of sustainable energy transition in the countries of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Information and scientific studies on the situation in these countries is scarce. On the other hand, these are resource-rich countries, some are exporters, and all are energy transit countries. The main aim of the paper was realized by applying the energy policies and regulatory framework analysis, defining priorities and monitoring selected indicators prescribed by the International Energy Agency. Methods: The following methods were used in the quantitative analysis: measurement of data intercorrelation; Pearson test of correlation; principal component analysis (with rotation method: Oblimin with Kaiser normalization); Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy, Bartlett's test of sphericity and t-test. The period covered by the quantitative analysis: 1990–2018, provided that the available data for 2019 or 2020 were used in certain cases. Results: Sustainable energy transition is, at the analysis of policies and data, at a low level. There is no adequate regulatory framework in these countries. The energy transition takes place exclusively within the framework of providing enough energy, without regard to sustainability, while even energy exporting countries are not making efforts to achieve a sustainable energy transition. Conclusions: There are no indications that the energy transition in the countries of Central Asia will take place according to the standards of the European Union or global bodies. On the other hand, having in mind the natural resources of the mentioned countries and the specific geopolitical position, monitoring the changes is of special importance. The impact of changes on sustainability can be determined mainly ex post.

Background: Decarbonisation of the European economy is one of the main strategic goals of energy transition in the European Union (EU), which aims to become a leader in this process by 2050 and to include other European countries making thus the European continent the first carbon neutral region in the world. Although decarbonisation is an important goal of the EU, the models for monitoring the progress of this process have not yet been clearly defined, and views on the social, economic, and security implications in terms of prioritising decarbonisation are conflicting. The main objective of this paper is to determine the methodological correctness of the existing method of decarbonisation monitoring, to develop a new monitoring model indicating the differences in the EU and European countries that are non-EU and to point out the underlying social, economic and security implications that must certainly find their place in the decision-making process in this field. Results: The main results showed that there is no clearly defined model for monitoring the success of decarbonisation, while the indicators that are commonly used for this purpose make a model that, as the analysis shows—is methodologically incorrect. In the case of EU countries, the following indicators proved to be the most reliable: consumption-based CO2 and share in global CO2. For non-EU countries, the best monitoring indicators are CO2 per unit of GDP, consumption-based CO2, and renewable energy consumption. These indicators can explain 99% of the variance in decarbonisation success. Conclusions: The basic conclusion of the paper is that even before the implementation, the decarbonisation monitoring model should be defined and methodologically tested, and the use of a single model for all EU countries or for all countries is not recommended. It is proposed to simplify the monitoring model, with an emphasis on monitoring of consumption-based CO2, which proved to be the most efficient in all sampled countries. The current method of monitoring is based exclusively on environmentally related indicators while ignoring the fact that decarbonisation is associated with almost all aspects of development. The additional social, economic and security aspects need to be developed and included in the further monitoring process.

BACKGROUND: Decarbonisation of the European economy is one of the main strategic goals of energy transition in the European Union (EU), which aims to become a leader in this process by 2050 and to include other European countries making thus the European continent the first carbon neutral region in the world. Although decarbonisation is an important goal of the EU, the models for monitoring the progress of this process have not yet been clearly defined, and views on the social, economic, and security implications in terms of prioritising decarbonisation are conflicting. The main objective of this paper is to determine the methodological correctness of the existing method of decarbonisation monitoring, to develop a new monitoring model indicating the differences in the EU and European countries that are non-EU and to point out the underlying social, economic and security implications that must certainly find their place in the decision-making process in this field. RESULTS: The main results showed that there is no clearly defined model for monitoring the success of decarbonisation, while the indicators that are commonly used for this purpose make a model that, as the analysis shows—is methodologically incorrect. In the case of EU countries, the following indicators proved to be the most reliable: consumption-based CO(2) and share in global CO(2). For non-EU countries, the best monitoring indicators are CO(2) per unit of GDP, consumption-based CO(2), and renewable energy consumption. These indicators can explain 99% of the variance in decarbonisation success. CONCLUSIONS: The basic conclusion of the paper is that even before the implementation, the decarbonisation monitoring model should be defined and methodologically tested, and the use of a single model for all EU countries or for all countries is not recommended. It is proposed to simplify the monitoring model, with an emphasis on monitoring of consumption-based CO(2), which proved to be the most efficient in all sampled countries. The current method of ...