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Abstract
The paper explores the relationship between the diversification of bank activities and a set of bank performance indicators by running multiple regression on panel data set of 22 operating banks in Serbia in the time period spanning the last 15 reporting years. We have found a positive influence of the degree of diversification, measured both by income composition and earning assets composition indicators, on the levels and stability of the banks' return on equity. For ROA-related performance measures the relationship is not conclusive. We have also tested whether the presence of COVID-19 crisis challenged the observed regularity and confirmed that it has had tendency to reverse the long-term relationship.

Abstract
This paper identifies the conditions under which the private pension funds generate superior retirement outcomes compared to public pension system. The research objective is to determine the probability of success of the selected investment strategies in achieving the public pension system replacement rate, and the probability of the realization of extremely unfavourable outcomes. The methodology used in this paper includes the comparative analysis of simulated financial results of the four selected investment strategies implemented in the private pension fund model and the defined retirement benefits generated within the public pension system. For the simulation of the financial results at retirement, Monte Carlo simulation technique has been used. The authors have found that the success rate of the private pension fund in achieving superior financial results in comparison to public pension system is high, but only for the contribution rates higher than 10%. At low contributions rates, the extremely aggressive strategy is the only one that generates moderate success rate. Also, the probability of realization of extremely unfavourable financial results is lowest for the conservative strategy, which suggests that for the relatively high levels of the contribution rate, it is the most appropriate option for the pension fund members.

During the recent financial crisis, there have been significant real and fiscal implications that have renewed concerns of the regulatory agencies for financial stability. The stability of the financial system implies its resistance, which must be set up in advance and installed along the entire lifetime of financial institutions. The authors of this study have firstly presented the concept and conceptual questions of financial stability, and secondly, they have perceived the role of relevant policies in preserving financial stability. Special emphasis is given to the role of monetary and macroprudential policies and their conditionality in the realization of the same objective. Since the policy of preserving financial stability is a particularly sensitive area within the European Union (EU), this paper has summed up the current framework for financial stability, as well as the efforts towards the creation of the banking union.

During the recent financial crisis, there have been significant real and fiscal implications that have renewed concerns of the regulatory agencies for financial stability. The stability of the financial system implies its resistance, which must be set up in advance and installed along the entire lifetime of financial institutions. The authors of this study have firstly presented the concept and conceptual questions of financial stability, and secondly, they have perceived the role of relevant policies in preserving financial stability. Special emphasis is given to the role of monetary and macroprudential policies and their conditionality in the realization of the same objective. Since the policy of preserving financial stability is a particularly sensitive area within the European Union (EU), this paper has summed up the current framework for financial stability, as well as the efforts towards the creation of the banking union. ; Značajne realne i fiskalne implikacije nedavne finansijske krize obnovile su zabrinutost regulatornih organa za finansijsku stabilnost. Stabilnost finansijskog sistema podrazumeva njegovu otpornost koja mora biti unapred osmišljena i postavljena duž celog životnog veka finansijskih institucija. Autori su u radu najpre izložili pojam i konceptualna pitanja finansijske stabilnosti, a potom sagledali ulogu relevantnih politika za očuvanje finansijske stabilnosti. Poseban akcenat dat je ulozi monetarne i makroprudencijalne politike i njihovoj uslovljenosti u realizaciji istog cilja. S obzirom da je politika očuvanja finansijske stabilnosti posebno osetljivo područje unutar Evropske unije (EU), u radu je ukratko izložen trenutni okvir za očuvanje finansijske stabilnosti, kao i napori ka stvaranju bankarske unije.

The paper presents analysis of the achieved development level of the housing market in Serbia. Various factors that have shaped demand and supply are systematized and their impact over the last decade was analysed and monitored. As important ones demographic, macroeconomic and financial factors are singled out and a special importance is given to the analysis of specific historical and socio-political circumstances that have influenced the development of the housing market during the period of analysis.

After two decades of being a monetary unification gospel, EMU is at a brink of dissolution. The European (Monetary) Union, including its political significance and economic future has been hanging in balance ever since the May of 2010, most recently reaching the very end of the rope. This paper attempted to discern historical and constructional origins of the Eurozone crisis, layers or ingredients of the ongoing peril as well as to identify a short-term technical policy response, necessary for avoiding the imminent break-up of the EMU. Last but not least, the article developed a game theoretical pay-off matrix in order to consider the menu and tentative likelihood of representative agents' available strategy pairs, that in turn revealed three distinct equilibria, one of which will decisively shape the immediate outlook and ultimate fate of the Eurozone. However, the current pairs in the core vs. periphery pay-off matrix of apparently pursued strategies do not lead to the desirable, superior Nash equilibrium. Out of three bargaining equilibria possible, only two are Nash-stable and only one associated with EMU's survival. It is hard to say whether the EMU will be lucky and wise enough to weather this crisis. It is easy to say that feasible macroeconomic solutions won't be pleasing for many of its members

The paper explores the main causes behind- and spreading mechanics in- the wave of sovereign debt overhangs that has been mounting recently across Europe. We offer two concurrent explanations: international contagion of a macroeconomic shock, and structural flaws in the design of E(M)U and its development paradigm. Moreover, we found the immediate policy response to have repeatedly gone awry and turned sour, since EMU's tactics of bailing out their banks rather than their sovereigns, can be summarized as the policy of too little, too late and to the wrong beneficiary. In compliance with the identified causes, we suggest urgent recourse to the healthier banking, growth oriented yet thriftier public finance, jointly with other measures meant to boost European economies' competitiveness.

For stability and advance of the EU and prospective member countries, it is important to assess the best time for new enlargement. In this paper, we have tested a number of macroeconomic and macro-financial variables in order to check whether a number of countries were ready to join the EU, and whether the candidates are ready. Some variables present criteria of nominal convergence as defined in Maastricht Treaty, while the rest of variables indicate the level of real convergence. Univariate analysis has indicated that the membership in the EU is significantly affected by GDP per capita, general government final consumption expenditure, final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation, gross national expenditure, and inflation. Following the univariate binary logistic analysis and separation of variables that affect the individual membership in the EU, a multivariate regression analysis was applied. Multivariate binary logistic regression confirmed significance of general government final consumption expenditure and gross capital formation. The analysis indicated the importance of selecting the timing of accession in terms of the achieved economic development, expressed through the selected macroeconomic indicators. Moreover, it appears that the list of tested economic criteria was played at best a secondary importance in past European enlargements. ; Za stabilnost i napredak EU-a i potencijalnih zemalja članica, važno je procijeniti najbolje vrijeme za novo proširenje. U ovom smo radu testirali brojne makroekonomske i makrofinancijske varijable kako bismo provjerili jesu li brojne zemlje bile spremne za ulazak u EU i jesu li zemlje kandidatkinje spremne. Neke varijable predstavljaju kriterije nominalne konvergencije definirane u Maastrichtskom ugovoru, dok ostale varijable pokazuju razinu stvarne konvergencije. Univarijatna analiza pokazala je da članstvo u EU značajno utječe na BDP po glavi stanovnika, opće izdatke države za finalnu potrošnju, izdatke za finalnu potrošnju, bruto investicije, bruto nacionalne izdatke i inflaciju. Slijedeći univarijatnu binarnu logističku analizu i razdvajanje varijabli koje utječu na pojedinačno članstvo u EU, primijenjena je multivarijatna regresijska analiza. Multivarijatna binarna logistička regresija potvrdila je značaj općih izdataka države za finalnu potrošnju i bruto investicija. Analiza je ukazala na važnost odabira vremena pristupanja u pogledu ostvarenog gospodarskog razvoja, iskazanog kroz odabrane makroekonomske pokazatelje. Štoviše, čini se da je popis testiranih ekonomskih kriterija, u najboljem slučaju, imao sekundarnu važnost u prošlim europskim proširenjima.

The process of joining the European Union is largely driven by the procedures developed clearly and in graet detail, and at first glance it may appear that the entire process does not have much room for creative functioning of national monetary authorities. However, given the duration of this process, the sequence of steps and preparatory actions have become an important aspect of the overall process, which is the responsibility of the candidate countries. The decision about the future steps should be made on the basis of an objective scientific analysis, based on the quantitative economic indicators. Therefore, it is very important for any prospective member states to determine the optimal moment of accession to the European Union, and later to the European Monetary Union, in terms of minimizing the adjustment costs, and maximizing the benefits of the future membership. The aim is to determine the optimal moment of Serbia's accession to the European Union, from the economic aspect, i.e. reaching the numerical values of the key macroeconomic data that were singled out as the most important indicators in this process.

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.