How Does the Budget Deficit Affect Inflation Rate – Evidence from Western Balkans Countries

The main purpose of this study is to investigate if determinants that we selected in our analysis have any effects on inflation rate in Western Balkans Countries[1] by using panel data for the period of 2001-2017, in yearly basis in total of 102 observation. The study used quantitative analysis approach and secondary data by applying the multivariate time series, respectively vector error correction model [VECM]. Multivariate time series was applied to investigate whether the budget deficit and other explanatory variable have any significant impact on inflation rate. The results from our analysis shows that three of four determinates that we used are significant on inflation rate. The model summaries statistics for inflation rate which shows that inflation rate has a moderate correlation with explanatory variables that we used in our model, that explanatory variables explain 45.5 percent of dependent variable and we can conclude that a model is a proper and fit. The results suggest that one percent point increase in budget deficit to GDP ratio is associated with about a 9.34 percent point increase in inflation rate.  The overall inference is that the ratios that we selected has a significant influence on the inflation rate in Western Balkans Countries.      [1] Western Balkans Countries: Albania, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.