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Conference Enhancing Local Economic Development Planning through Inter-Municipal Cooperation held in Niš

On Tuesday, July 11, 2023, the conference “Enhancing Local Economic Development Planning through Inter-Municipal Cooperation” took place in Niš, organized by the Center for Advanced Economic Studies (CEVES) in collaboration with the Regional Development Agency South. It was the first out of three events that will be organized by the “SDGs for All” Platform with aim to initiate the exchange of experiences and knowledge among municipalities and cities throughout Serbia about the localization of SDGs and their integration into local planning documents. The event assembled representatives from the local self-governments of Nišava, Pirot, Zaječar, Toplica and Jablanica districts, as well as central-level institutions, development projects, civil society organizations, and agencies.

The conference began with a presentation of the results of a questionnaire concerning the organizational and functional capacities of local self-governments in four districts of South and East Serbia, essential for the development planning process. The presentation was conducted by Tatijana Pavlović Križanić, expert in local economic development. The recommendations derived from the questionnaire’s responses focused on improving the sustainability of the planning system, enhancing inter-municipal collaboration, and fostering cooperation with the private sector and civil society organizations.

The first panel addressed the state of development planning in the local self-governments in line with the principles of the 2030 Agenda. Panelists included Anja Stančić, a senior advisor in the Cabinet of the Minister for European Integration; Sanja Mešanović, Deputy Director of the Public Policy Secretariat; Milena Radomirović, Director for the Planning System and Public Finances at the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities; Marija Đošić, Head of the Local Economic Development Office in the City Administration of Pirot, and Nataša Vučković, General Secretary of the “Center for Democracy” Foundation. The panelists agreed that further efforts are needed to strengthen the capacity of local self-governments in creating and implementing planning documents, standardizing these processes, prioritizing objectives in planning documents, and ensuring predictable funding for local self-governments.

The second panel focused on showcasing examples of good and/or alternative practices in sustainable development planning. Among the panelists were Dragana Stojanović, Director of the Regional Development Agency South; Viktor Veljović, Manager of the EU Pro Plus Capacity Development Sector; Ivan Pavlović, Head of the Development Planning and Project Management Sector at LEDO Niš; Dragan Mančev, a member of the Municipal Council for Economy and Agriculture in Dimitrovgrad; and Luka Milovanović, Program Assistant at the BFPE Foundation for Responsible Society. During the panel, the RDA South presented the initiative to form regional councils that would actively collaborate with local self-governments. These councils, focusing on business and investment, infrastructure, agriculture and rural development, as well as social development, should provide concrete assistance to local self-governments by identifying common issues and developing initiatives addressed to decision-makers and donors that contribute to the joint development of local communities. The panel emphasized the significance of a participatory approach in defining territorial and local community priorities, as well as the importance of considering the realistic capabilities of local self-governments and utilizing the existing knowledge and capacities of development organizations and other stakeholders in sustainable local development.

Based on the discussions held during the conference, CEVES will prepare a document containing conclusions and recommendations that will define further work on enhancing local economic development planning. The document will serve as a foundation for future inter-municipal exchange events within the “SDGs for All” Platform.

Global Forum for National SDG Advisory Bodies

CEVES joins the Global Forum for National SDG Advisory Bodies on behalf of the “SDGs for All” Platform

On behalf of the “SDGs for All” Platform, in June 2023, CEVES joined the prestigious Global Forum for National SDG Advisory Bodies. The Global Forum is a network that connects the knowledge and experience of multi-stakeholder advisory commissions, councils and similar bodies for sustainable development. These bodies contribute to the national institutional architectures for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By bridging knowledge and interests of various stakeholder groups, multi-stakeholder advisory bodies foster social acceptance and cohesion within society in times of transformation.

As a member of the Global Forum for National SDG Advisory Bodies, CEVES will actively participate, on behalf of the “SDGs for All” Platform, in international discussions and knowledge exchange on sustainable development, sharing contributions developed within the Platform, as well as acquired experiences and lessons learned. Membership provides an opportunity for Serbia to exchange experiences, best practices, and lessons learned with other countries, enhancing global collaboration and collective efforts towards achieving SDGs.

The “SDGs for All” Platform will leverage its membership in the Global Forum, as well as the knowledge gained within it, to continue advocating for policy coherence and effective implementation of the SDGs at the national level. By joining the Global Forum, the “SDGs for All” Platform reaffirms its commitment to sustainable development, fostering collaboration, and guiding Serbia towards achieving SDGs, thus strengthening its position as a key player in driving sustainable development efforts in Serbia. We expect that these partnerships will accelerate efforts in building a better future for all, leaving no one behind in the pursuit of a more sustainable and equitable world.

Business Intelligence Portal

In today’s dynamic business landscape, staying informed about the economic conditions and trends is crucial for making informed decisions. Whether you are an entrepreneur, investor, or analyst, having access to reliable and up-to-date information is essential. That’s where Business Intelligence Portal comes in – your business portal for comprehensive insights into the economic landscape of Serbia and EU countries.

CEVES understand the importance of having a single platform that provides a wide range of data and analysis, enabling you to make strategic decisions with confidence. Our portal brings together a wealth of information on key economic indicators, including inflation, gross domestic product (GDP), labor force statistics, private sector structure, export data, company profiles, interest rates, and economic sentimen.

Business Intelligence Portal is committed to providing accurate, reliable, and timely information. Our portal is designed with user-friendly navigation, advanced search capabilities, and customizable data visualizations to ensure you can access the insights that matter most to your business. Whether you are conducting market research, evaluating investment opportunities, or staying informed about economic trends, Business Intelligence Portal is your go-to resource

The Business Intelligence portal uses databases from various sources, such as the database of Eurostat, Uncomtrade, the Statistical Institute for Statistics of the Republic of Serbia, the National Bank of Serbia, and others. The portal is part of the Big Small Economy project funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID)

CEVES OBSERVATORY 30.06.2022

Despite the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine, difficulties in global supply chains and turmoil in global capital markets, the global post-pandemic economic recovery continues. This is a key factor in maintaining solid economic growth in Serbia, based primarily on external factors — relatively strong growth in exports (5.7% in real terms in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous year) relatively strong inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI – 698 million euros net in the first four months). In addition, some domestic factors also played a significant role – such as a strong fiscal stimulus (deficit of 4% of GDP) in which increased spending on public investments plays a key role (read more about the macroeconomic framework in the Assessment of the NKEU Working Group for Chapter 17) . In both cases, that growth is very unstable. The global recovery is increasingly threatened by the efforts of key central banks to suppress inflation, which in May reached a level of 8.8% in the EU-27 (10.1% in Serbia) and is currently accelerating (hence the tremors in the capital markets). This threat alone is a grave threat for Serbia as well, because the global recession would hit us both through the reduction of exports and through the reduction of FDI that can happen due to the growth of global uncertainty.

 

Serbian economic growth is also threatened by other factors, above all the extremely short-term horizon with which the Government responds to an increasingly complex situation. The political effect of “closing ranks” that accompanies every war, including the one in Ukraine, was not used in Serbia to prepare citizens for long-term changes in the energy sector. Even if we manage to avoid shortages, an increase in energy prices is inevitable, and it should have already happened. For now, the increase in energy import costs, which in the first four months of 2022 amounted to 130 million euros for electricity, over 900 million euros for gas, and certainly a certain amount for the import of fuel oil, is “absorbed” by public companies — EPS, Srbijagas, and heating plants. In other words, it will come due in the future (which is very uncertain). Their prices for households and small commercial consumers have not been adjusted since the beginning of the crisis, and for larger commercial consumers only by one part (more about the “oil” formula” in the interview). On the other hand, the geostrategic ambivalence of Serbia in relation to the war in Ukraine can lead to the stopping of capital flows not only from the West, but also from other parts of the world.

 

 We do not see any preparation for the measures to increase energy efficiency, which could significantly contribute to the reduction of energy consumption and dependence on imports by the next, and especially the winter after. We also see no other measures that could contribute to “cushioning” the fiscal and economic shocks that are likely to continue to multiply. For instance, instead of bans on exports, with better management of commodity reserves, measures to support the provision of expensive fertilizers in order to support agricultural production would benefit the Serbian economy even in conditions of increasing prices of its products that will certainly be maintained in the medium term. In both this, as in the case of discrimination against domestic SMEs, in addition to the absence of political ideas/will, the issue is also the inability of institutions to act in a targeted manner (see interview).

Facts and Fiction about Serbia’s Economic Growth, The Missing Link

Text by Kori Udovički, published in NIN on 18/11/2021 (translated from Serbian) 

It has become completely clear today that development priorities are just not a political priority.  Economic growth is not the same as development. There are rich countries with poor peoples

 

Serbia shows no actual progress in this year’s European Commission’s Progress Report on its readiness for EU membership, just as it didn’t in previous years. The report clearly indicates what has, and what has not been done. The authorities declared it “the best report in the last few years” because the text has a slightly more positive tone overall and in its assessments in the umbrella observations. The term “state capture”, which was present last year (for the first time), does not appear again. Efforts are evident to “give points” to Serbia for progress such as, for example, that the number of laws passed by urgent procedure has declined, although the speed of the procedure in a parliament with no opposition is irrelevant. Maybe Europe was worried that it would push Serbia too far away from itself. Or maybe someone judged that, together the facts that the proposed constitutional changes on the judiciary are indeed an improvement and that Serbia is at least confronting one of its organized crime clans, prevail over the fact that this confrontation has clearly revealed how inseparable crime is from government structures and that the latter will not at all be brought to account. Finally, the European portal Politico states advances the thesis that the report was embellished at the last moment by Commissioner Varhelji, close to the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The answer is, most likely, “a little bit of everything”.

 

The economy is growing

There is also little doubt that Serbia’s very solid economic performance, for a second time in a row, contributed to the positive tone of the Report. Serbia’s growth was one of the highest in Europe, and this enabled Serbia to increase budget spending without a significant increase in public debt, now possibly even declining again in percent of GDP. Certainly, a disregard for the health situation “helped” economic growth (at the cost of human lives)  Serbia is, along with Bulgaria, the “leader” in excess mortality during the pandemic. It was also helped by a strong fiscal stimulus for which, it is important to recognize, the space was created with the fiscal consolidation a few years ago. However, the extent of the resilience shown by the Serbian economy in the pandemic indicates that something more has been at play. The question is – what could it be? The report itself points to a large number of institutional weaknesses that have not been corrected over the years. In fact, we as citizens see institutions being devastated. Does this mean that a “favorable business environment”, which of course includes the quality of institutions and the rule of law, is not important for economic growth? Or that the business environment has somehow improved?

The answer is that the Serbian economy is growing despite the weakening of institutions, due to a favorable set of structural, even historical, circumstances. In fact, Serbia is missing a unique opportunity to go beyond a temporary acceleration of growth, and start developing rapidly, closing the socio-economic gap with countries of the European Union.  After almost two decades of slow and painful economic transformation, Serbia entered the pandemic with a healthy base of dynamic economic entities. That transformation, through the cumulative reforms that accompanied it, the recent stagnation of wages, and, simply just the passage of time, helped Serbia become more competitive at a time when the global economic scene is restructuring. The fiscal consolidation and then-initiated public administration reforms opened the opportunity for increased and better-targeted public investment necessary to support development. That fiscal space is now being wasted, and current industrial policies, as well as the way in which they are implemented, reduce the level and quality of investments, especially those that can contribute the most to the well-being of citizens. Let’s look at these in turn.

There is no doubt that economic growth in Serbia is currently being driven mainly by foreign direct investment (FDI). This is, as the Report emphasizes, good for macroeconomic stability. It is also good that Serbia attracts part of this FDI because of the aforementioned restructuring of global value chains.  Capital is returning from Asia to Europe, and is increasingly moving from Germany as well. As China and the CEE have moved up the ladder of development in the past two decades, Serbia can now “win over” the more labor-intensive projects. These are investments in manufacturing which are moved by an expectations of increasing production capacity and exports. They, hence, bring economic growth not only while the investment lasts but, as a rule, after it as well.

 

Structures are being built  but– what kind?

The problem is that a large part of the significant increase in FDI recorded by our statistics does not concern the opening of factories, which is what we usually have in mind by FDI. The increase in average annual FDI into manufacturing (€ 200 million) is only a small part of the total increase in FDI (€ 1.7 billion) in the past five years. The lion’s share of that significant increase (1.1 billion euros) actually refers to flows into „land transport and piplines“ or into the real estate and construction sectors sectors. In the first case, the figures clearly correspond to the value of the gas pipeline, actually a public infrastructure project that is treated as FDI because it is run by a (publicly owned) company. In the second case, the flows are almost certainly into development of real estate, mostly in Belgrade. In both cases, of course, these are investments whose contribution to the country’s production capacity is far less “assured”. The rest of the increase in FDI flows refers to the Bor mine and steel and copper production, which will raise productive capacity but with questionable environmental containment efforts.

Also the structure of investments in the manufacturing industry itself is not optimal. Methods of attracting them still give a significant advantage to projects with a large number of low-skilled employees (in the thousands), although unemployment is no longer the only, and perhaps not even the main, development priority. The problem is really not in that such projects rely on lower paid labor but that they offer this labor and entrepreneurs in their environment fewer development prospects. These are huge systems in which simple products are mass-produced. Making such products do not offer workers much learning opportunities, and many also do not offer opportunities for adding complexity later.  Finally, they do not offer Serbia an opportunity to supply much. Another problem is that manufacturing investment attraction is focused on only two sources: Germany and China. While with Germany a positive feedback loop has been created based on good mutual experiences, largely thanks to consistent German official assistance, from China we are attracting polluters that China wants to get rid of, and into places such as Zrenjanin where it was certainly possible to invest in many better things.

Actually the experience with Germany, from where we are increasingly attracting higher-quality investments, shows how opportunities opened with the consistent investment in people, connections, reputation and cooperation. This is how institutions are built under normal conditions. The problem in our case is that this is effort is not carried out only, nor even mainly, by institutions, but by the completely centralized parallel structure built around the office of the President. Thus, the experience cannot spread and expand to a larger number of sources, nor to a larger number of smaller and finer projects. The persistent focus on large projects and on only two countries of origin have the same explanation – the limited capacity of one center from which everything is run.

The domestic economy – a neglected potential

 

It would be desirable, and this is now realistically possible, for a much larger part of the growth to be driven by the domestic private economy itself – through its own investments. After almost three decades of painstaking development, this economy has matured. The ease with which it overcame the state of emergency, and even the shocks that followed, indicates that it has significant reserves. Its maturation took place in parallel with the transformation, to a large extent extinction, of the “traditional” economy inherited from socialism. The transforming traditional economy fed the new domestic economy with resources, but also burdened it with its poor performance, non-payment of bills and the burden of taxes used to subsidize it.

The process of building a new domestic and foreign-owned economy and the parallel process of transforming the traditional socialist economy can be illustrated by a particularly vivid example of the machinery and electrical equipment sector, and also through the export of goods. The first chart shows revenues by company ownership in the machinery and electrical equipment sector. Revenues of newly established domestically owned companies (marked in blue) increased by around 25 billion dinars from 2006 to 2015, revenues of brand new (greenfield) FDI (green) increased twice as much, while revenues of companies that were once was state-owned (and in 2015 or other state-owned, marked in yellow, or already privatized, brown) decreased by about 40 billion.

Machinery and electrical equipment sector: revenues, 2006-2015

RSD 2015

Similarly, the dynamism of the new domestic economy can be seen in the structure of Serbian merchandise exports by ownership of exporters (colors are somewhat different compared to the previous chart). The new domestic economy is fully keeping pace with the rapid growth of exports of privatized companies (excluding Fiat and Zelezara) suffering a decline only in 2009. This is impressive, because most privatized companies are in the hands of foreign owners with much better access to capital and export markets than ours.

Serbia’s merchandise exports ownership of exporter company, 2005-2015 in mill. EUR

(Fiat and Steelmill Smederevo are not included in the calculations)

Today, when the transformation of the traditional economy and fiscal consolidation are over, when it is evident that SMEs have reserves, and when finally the government is spending significant amounts- we should see an increase in domestic company investment and not only foreign ones. While precise data are not available, available data suggests this is not the case.

 

A very unequal playing ground

 

The performance of the domestic economy continues to be burdened – by the weak economic environment. In this regard, the EC Report could be criticized for the assessment that in the observed period (June 2020-June 2021) the economic environment improved slightly. That was true a few years ago, but now it would mean that very few regulatory changes and a bit of procedure digitalization took precedence over the increasingly visible absence of the rule of law (especially confirmed through public discourse on organized crime). We cannot measure this effect, but there is no doubt that clientelist management of public enterprises, corruption and the absence of the rule of law play a significant role in “cooling” domestic investment passions.

The domestic economy does not receive the same attention, nor funds, dedicated to FDIs. As the Report notes, SMEs face an “unequal playing field because they do not have direct access to the government as do large companies and foreign investors”. (By European standards, just about the entire domestic economy is SMEs). While insider large companies and FDIs can speed up administrative decisions with this direct access, the implication is that small ones will therefore have to wait even longer. An additional problem is that FDI is attracted with incentives that are not adapted to the characteristics (mainly dimensions) of domestic companies that therefore generally have no access to it, while funds dedicated to SMEs are severalfold smaller, and fragmented.  Finally, the domestic economy is not consulted in the decision-making about which FDI to incentivize, and where. While the spending of an FDI will generally give an impetus to local economic activity and employment, it can, if not carefully planned, endanger those (fewer) local SMEs with more a substantial growth potential. This will happen primarily through competition for staff and other resources. What is there to be gained by encouraging foreign and not domestic investors in the production of chocolate or furniture?

The way in which the government manages the spending of public funds, especially investments, does not help increase private investments and growth, and more importantly – the effect they can have in the future. Let’s start with the example of the subsidies to the economy during the pandemic crisis. The space created by fiscal consolidation enabled strong spending, and this provided an impetus to growth. However, as has been pointed out many times in public (and recognized in the Report), it was not targeted at the most vulnerable households and businesses. Had it been, it would have produced higher economic growth and higher investments, as  the same help to those more in need – be it poor citizens or affected companies — makes a much bigger difference in their behavior than helping those doing well anyway.

Shooting from the hip

It has never been more important to think through priorities for the direction of public funds, especially medium-term national investments, nor has the absence of such analysis been less justified. From 2017 until today, investments in transport and energy infrastructure have significantly increased and will continue to increase – without an expert, not to mention participatory, process to answer the questions —  what types, how much, in what locations? Do we really need whole new highways to meet the development needs of some parts of Serbia, or would it have been better to build only a third lane (for the time being) and invest the savings in other needs? Highways and railways will require maintenance in the future – where from will these resources come if they happen not to result in a commensurate increase in production capacity? And how will they result in a commensurate increase in productive capacity if the small companies that should thrive due to their proximity are presently reduced to (in vain) roaming backstage inquiring if there will be get a connector from their place to the highway?

Not only has this analysis not been done, but there is no document, not even a note, which all potential investors could consult, to learn about the plans that before the last elections were called the “Serbia 2025 Investment Plan”, and that are etched, apparently, solely in the President of the Republic’s mind.  The EC has been not only waiting, but actually endeavoring to help, the implementation of its year-after-year repeated recommendation that Serbia “establish a single, comprehensive and transparent system for planning and managing capital investments.” The question of investment prioritization was posed to the Prime Minister at the Plenary Session of the National Convention for the EU. She replied, referring to the environmental sector, that “there is no priority because it is about extinguishing fires.” Such an explanation could have been acceptable at the beginning of the 2000s, and even at the beginning of Vučić’s rule, as a planning system had not been built in the meantime. Today, however, it is quite clear that development priorities are simply not a political priority. Economic growth is not the same as development. There are also rich countries with poor people.

The European Commission’s report does as much as it can– it even recognizes that the weakness of institutions threatens the sustainability of economic growth. But the process of joining the European Union is not adapted to situations in which someone is not interested in real progress. The fact that Serbia is missing a historic chance for development is, above all, a question and a task for us – the entrepreneurs and citizens of Serbia.

 

By Kori Udovički

 

The text is a translation of an Op-Ed published in NINu 18/11/2021; it includes a correction with regard to the composition of FDI.  

 

Publication “Enterprises in Serbia and Agenda 2030 – priorities, challenges and the COVID-19 crisis”

Within the “SDGs for ALL” Platform, Center for Advanced Economic Studies (CEVES) introduces publication “Enterprises in Serbia and Agenda 2030 – priorities, challenges and the COVID-19 crisis”, which aims to contribute to the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Republic of Serbia. The publication showcases the results of a survey conducted in October 2020 on a sample of 1100 enterprises in Serbia differing in size, sector, and the region in which they are located.

The publication provides answers on questions regarding familiarity of enterprises in Serbia with the 2030 Agenda, their societal priorities, challenges they face towards faster growth, and the influence of the current pandemic on their expectations and business activities. The survey reveals which topics and initiatives are identified by the enterprises as the most relevant for improving living conditions (on local and national level) and whether the enterprises additionally engage in making contribution to the community. Through the survey, the enterprises mapped the main factors influencing (or constraining) their further growth, such as stable economic growth, digitalisation, infrastructure and deficiency of qualified labour. They expressed their positions about foreign direct investments’ influence on their local communities, but also about issues of global concern, such as protection of the environment.

The document is only available in Serbian on the following link:

Preduzeća u Srbiji i Agenda 2030 – prioriteti, izazovi i kriza COVID-19

 

Living in the European Serbia: Mapping of the SDGs within the EU integrations framework

Open Society Foundations

Year: 2019

The brochure “Living in the European Serbia: Mapping of the SDGs within the EU integrations framework ” is prepared within the project “Living in the European Serbia – illustration, quantification and representation of societal benefits that stem from adoption of the institutional framework of the EU”  supported by  the Open Society Foundations. The brochure is a contribution to the arguments of the civil society of Serbia that favor the European integration of Serbia, showing how it can contribute to the socio-economic development of Serbia and personal aspirations of its citizens.

The brochure is available only in Serbian

CEVES is now part of the Initiative Global Compact United Nations

Center for Advanced Economic Studis is new member of the world platform Global Compact United Nations. With more than 10,000 participants from over 145 countries, the Global Compact is the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative committed to the advancement of corporate social responsibility.

CEVES started with its activities by presenting research findings about Sustainable Development Goals at Assembly of Global Compact members in Serbia, held October 4th 2018 at Chamber of Commerce  of Serbia.

The Global Compact is a framework for sharing expert knowhow and promoting the business practices of its participants, which are committed to aligning their operations with the ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. The Global Compact is not a regulatory instrument – it does not “police”, enforce or measure the behavior or actions of companies. Rather, the Global Compact relies on public accountability, transparency and the enlightened self-interest of companies, non-government organizations, civic associations and academic institutions to initiate and share substantive action in pursuing the principles upon which the Global Compact is based.

The Global Compact asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set core of values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption with 10 Principles:

  • Principle 1: respect and support for the protection of internationally recognized human rights
  • Principle 2: Ensure that human rights are not violated during business
  • Principle 3: Supporting freedom of association and the application of the right to collective bargaining
  • Principle 4: Abolition of all types of forced and forced labor
  • Principle 5: banning the employment of children
  • Principle 6: eliminating discrimination in the workplace
  • Principle 7: responsible access to the environment
  • Principle 8: support for projects that protect the environment
  • Principle 9: Participation in the development of non-environmental damage technologies
  • Principle 10: the fight against corruption in any form, including extortion and briber

Call for Project Proposals

Centar za visoke ekonomske studije (CEVES) u okviru projekta „Korišćenje ciljeva održivog razvoja kao vodilja preusmeravanja istraživanja društvenih nauka: Pilot projekat“  objavljuje poziv za dostavljanje predloga projekata na temu: “Ka postizanju ciljeva održivog razvoja u Srbiji: Kako su povezani kvalitet poslova i ekonomska struktura?”. Projekat je podržao PERFORM (PERFORM je projekat Švajcarske agencije za razvoj i saradnju koji sprovode organizacija HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation i Univerzitet u Friburgu), i on je deo šireg „Pripremnog projekta platforme za društveni dijalog o ciljevima održivog razvoja u Srbiji“ podržanog od strane Švajcarske agencije za razvoj i saradnju.

CEVES poziva istraživačke organizacije, akademsku zajednicu i grupe istraživača da podnesu svoje predloge projekta u skladu sa objavljenim uslovima konkursa. Uslove konkursa, istraživačku temu i sve druge dodatne informacije možete pronaći u PDF fajlu na linku ispod. 

Svoja pitanja vezana za konkurs možete uputiti elektronski na adresu office@ceves.org.rs najkasnije do 11. maja 2018. godine.

Predlozi projekata se podnose na engleskom jeziku i u elektronski na adresu: office@ceves.org.rs  sa naslovom koji se odnosi na ovaj poziv. Rok za podnošenje predloga projekata je 25. maj 2018. do 12h.

Poziv za dostavljanje predloga projekata.

Important announcement

Ms. Kori Udovički, the founder and former director of Center for Advanced Economic Studies, after few years of successful managing of this organization, has resigned, with the purpose to be included in the team of newly formed Government of Republic of Serbia, as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government. With this turn in CEVES’ management, this organization with young and perspective people continues to pace with the footsteps of Ms. Udovički. By transferring her knowledge and experience, Ms. Udovički has managed to set firm foundations for her ideas to be implemented in the upcoming projects, that will try to awake the nation and to continue on recovering the business in Serbia. For our new leader, Ms. Udovički has chosen Mr. Nemanja Šormaz to be the new Director of CEVES. Mr. Šormaz will have the opportunity to lead and proudly represent this youthful organization.

Entrepreneurship in Serbia – necessity or opportunity?

Over the Fall of 2013 CEVES conducted research about public and elite attitudes towards entrepreneurship in Serbia, as well as about the structure and performance of the SME sector.  Overall, the findings are that we expect less from entrepreneurship and the SME sector than it already delivers and, even more so, from what it could deliver.  We have integrated these findings in a brochure aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and disseminating information about the economic potential of the SME sector, and calling for a more committed involvement in European initiatives in support of small and medium sized companies.

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Quarterly Monitor of Economic Trends and Policies in Serbia (QM)

Originally CEVES’ flagship product and today FREN’s, has set new standards in the local economic discipline by offering consistent and thoroughly assessed data on all major macroeconomic aggregates, and providing a thorough analysis of the processes related to economic growth, and monetary, external and financial developments.

Read more

Viktor Bačanek – Junior Research Associate

Viktor Bačanek is a junior economic analyst at the Center for Advanced Economic Studies (CEVES) since May 2021. In Ceves, Victor has worked as an assistant on projects related to the environment and energy. In his daily work, he is in engaged in the analysis, maintenance and visualization of databases, as well as continuous monitoring of macroeconomic data, with the a focus on balance of payments, investment and exports

After completing his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade, Department of Economic Analysis and Politics,he is currently studying for a master’s degree in International Economic Relations