We use a growth diagnostic approach to analyse the main impediments to investment and growth in Serbia. We look at a wide set of quantitative and qualitative indicators to understand if businesses are constrained by access to finance or if they forgo investment opportunities because they cannot...

This paper provides an overview of private sector activity and investment in south-eastern Europe (SEE). The importance of the private sector is growing in all countries of the region. The private sector is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and much economic activity takes...

We analyse the extent and evolution of informality and inequality in the Serbian labour market between 2002 and 2007, using data from the Living Standard Measurement Surveys (LSMS). Two surprising results emerge. First, the level of informal employment has risen significantly over the period,...

Entrepreneurial activity is a key contributor to economic growth, innovation and the development of a market economy in transition countries. Data from the Life in Transition Survey reveal that financial sector development and access to credit are the most important drivers of entrepreneurship....

The success of an economy depends largely on how successful it is in allocating inputs and outputs across businesses efficiently with minimum disruption and frictions. Market institutions that impact this allocation potentially account for productivity differences across countries. Existing...

This paper looks at variation across Russian regions in terms of perceived constraints to doing business using the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey of Russian firms. The analysis identifies a number of region-specific business environment components that businesses perceive...

With a unique dataset of joint-stock companies, this paper describes the corporate audit structure in Russia and empirically analyses its determinants. When compared to the international standard, Russian firms have a weak audit structure in terms of the independence and expertise of the board...

This paper sifts through a variety of competitiveness and business environment indicators to assess the state of reforms in south-eastern Europe (SEE). While common themes emerge, such as corruption, weak tax administration and the lack of availability of skills, there is a clear gap between...

We investigate whether management quality explains firm performance in Russia. We find that it explains relatively little in terms of firm performance, but it does explain some of the differences between firms in Russia’s Far East and the rest of Russia. While management practices may not yet...

This paper analyses the accuracy of GDP growth forecasts prepared by the EBRD for 25 transition countries between 1994 and 2004. It provides the first comprehensive statistical analysis of output growth forecasts for transition countries in central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of...