Economic performance of the countries in the Western Balkans

Abstract

This paper will analyse the economic performance of six Western Balkan countries. Macroeconomic indicators have differences from country to country due to the government policies they have (Aryani et al., 2023). The economic performance of countries depends on global influences and the development model of some governments on how they use their country’s natural resources (Chutipat et al., 2023). The aim is to measure the economic performance index (EPI) for each country in this region. The paper methodology will have secondary data for the years 2010–2020. The EPI finding is constructed using the following indicators: unemployment, inflation, budget deficit, and economic growth. To do this, graphs, descriptive statistics, and regression models were used. In conclusion, based on conventional wisdom, the results show that countries that have performed better have shown increases in average private sector monthly wages and vice versa. Contrary to expectations, a larger population appears to have a negative impact on performance, and country specifics do not appear to be statistically associated with better performance. Thus, the importance of this paper is to add to the emerging literature by arguing for the superiority of the EPI compared to more traditional indicators.