Description
In the late 2010s, Serbia faced significant territorial disparities, fragmented planning and coordination systems, and a lack of coherent regional development policies. With EU accession requirements (Chapter 22 – Regional Policy and Structural Instruments) on the horizon, there was an urgent need to strengthen evidence on regional economic structures and to establish an institutional framework capable of supporting EU cohesion policies.
CEVES's Role
Prepared two background studies aimed at informing national and donor stakeholders on feasible entry points for territorial development. The first paper focused on identifying mezzo-level economic regions and typologies based on socio-economic indicators, while the second assessed the institutional and regulatory framework for regional development in Serbia and proposed policy and governance improvements.
Key results
• Produced two background papers that served as analytical foundations for regional development policy dialogue in Serbia.
• Developed a new classification of 39 economic regions and defined 11 typologies, offering a more precise analytical tool.
• Identified regional specialization patterns such as agribusiness hubs, SME clusters, HORECA, and mono-industrial regions.
• Revealed governance gaps within Serbia’s fragmented development strategies and lack of a national coordination framework.
• Mapped institutional roles of ministries, development agencies, regional councils, and local governments in territorial policy implementation.
• Provided recommendations for EU alignment (Chapter 22), including programmatic entry points for SME-driven growth, FDI support, and inter-municipal cooperation.
Conducted six in-depth case studies (Niš, Petrovac na Mlavi, Sjenica, Bački Petrovac, Kuršumlija, Mali Zvornik) covering demographic, economic, labor market, agricultural structures, and local development initiatives.
