Transition to renewable energy leads to assumed economic diversification; however, the institutional risks for hydrocarbon-dependent economies remain high. This paper identifies the conditions under which transitioning economies enter a novel dependency during the renewable transition. Our...

This report analyzes and compares the financing structures of non-financial corporations (NFCs) in eleven CESEE economies (CESEE EU-MS) against the background of the recent COVID-19 and energy crises. It also puts developments across the region in a broader EU context. In addition, this report...

This report takes stock of gender equality in ECA, with a particular focus on women’s access to economic opportunities and jobs, alongside the urgent challenge of VAWG. It highlights the World Bank Group–supported initiatives across the region, illustrating both the range of solutions being...

This 11th edition of the EU Regular Economic Report looks at how innovation can drive growth in CEE countries. The Draghi and Letta reports set a compass for the EU overall, but the bloc is far from homogenous. This report focuses on the growth models and innovation ecosystems of four CEE...

Recent events including the pandemic have prompted reflection on the future of sustainability in tourism. It necessitated "proximity tourism" - effectively, staying closer to home and discovering the proximate environment, the only tourism allowed for the mass of people. A form of proximate...

This paper examines economic and institutional convergence between EU Core, EU New, and Western Balkan countries over the period 2004-2023 using a comprehensive panel dataset and multiple convergence frameworks. Evidence of absolute β-convergence is found, although at a slow pace, while...

Digital skills are becoming increasingly more important in the labor market as demand for them is increasing in all sectors. This paper explores the determinants of digital skill acquisition and estimates the impact of digital skills on wages in developing countries by using the latest round of...

Europe's innovation bottleneck increasingly manifests in the difficulty of scaling promising startups into globally competitive firms. Central, East and Southeast Europe (CESEE) is particularly exposed to this due to limited finance and local acquirers, which lead to serious risks of relocation...

A credible EU enlargement policy remains necessary from a geopolitical perspective, but can only succeed through a more pragmatic and gradual integration approach. New members amplify the existing challenges to EU decision making, rule-of-law conditionality and political cohesion, particularly...

This working paper investigates the tension between market forces and welfare policies by applying Karl Polanyi's "double movement" study to pre- and posttransformation Poland. The analysis aims at providing a comprehensive perspective on how poverty relief policies impacted and have been...

How do geopolitical factors ripple through the European sovereign bond yields? And does this effect differ between Eastern and Western European markets? These two crucial, but not yet fully answered questions motivated us to investigate the link between geopolitical factors and sovereign bond...

The Serbian case illustrates the complex interplay between post-socialist transformations, market liberalisation, and the retreat of the state from housing provision. Despite a comprehensive legal framework, social housing (redefined in 2016 as "housing support") remains marginal, representing...

The living standards of the population in Visegrad Countries (V4) have long been below the EU and OECD averages, and the increase of negative impacts and crisis phenomena may be detected in their health systems, too. Our study examines the similarities and differences of the SMEs of healthcare...

This paper investigates the macroeconomic and bank-specific determinants of nonperforming loans in Romania and selected Central and Eastern European countries. Using a combination of econometric approaches, the study employs fixed-effects panel regressions for 18 Romanian banks over the period...

This paper discusses ongoing reindustrialisation processes in Hungary as an example of the evolving geographic complexity of industrial development in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has played a key role in reintegrating CEE regions into global value chains as...

This paper investigates the drivers of foreign exchange implied volatility in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Currencies in non-euro EU countries are particularly sensitive to changes in market sentiment. Risk aversion significantly impacts the implied volatility surface for FX...

Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) got off to a solid start in 2026. Growth in the region had largely remained stable in the second half of 2025 and sentiment had recovered as well. But the war in the Middle East changed the situation abruptly and led to a return to crisis mode in...

This study examines the evolution, heterogeneity, and short-term prospects of export performance in seven Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies-Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia-over the period 1995-2024. Using annual World Bank data, exports are...

The resilience of the countries of Europe and Central Asia is tested again by the crisis in the Middle East and rising energy import prices. Growth in the region is likely to weaken to 2.2 percent on average in 2026-27 from 2.6 percent in 2025. The pace of economic expansion in the Russian...

Twenty years have passed since the first eastern enlargements of the European Union (EU). This paper assesses the impacts of EU accession on agriculture and rural regions of Central and Eastern European countries and identifies the reasons behind differences in country performance. Results...

The process of transition and growth in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) provides interesting insights, considering the countries' historical relationship with the Soviet Union. The 20 years after the Eastern enlargement of the European Union show an integrative power within the Single Market....

Understanding the structural change in catching-up regions and the spatial distribution of economic sectors is essential for designing comprehensive policy strategies to promote balanced economic development. This study examines the economic restructuring of the 11 central and eastern European...

This study rigorously examines the causality between banking development, economic growth, and income inequality using annual panel data for 13 Central Eastern European transition economies from 2000 to 2020. The Granger non-causality test of heterogeneous panels based on the Toda and Yamamoto...

The changing geopolitical situation in the European region has actualized the issues of further EU enlargement. As a result, the relevance of studying many aspects of the functioning economic systems of candidate countries has increased. In this context, the purpose of this article is to...

This paper conducts a comparative meta-analysis using 3,098 estimates reported in 125 research works to explore the wage–experience profile in China and Eastern Europe as they experience a systemic transformation from the planned system to a market economy. The results indicate that the...

This study explores the role and enhancement of parliamentary capacities in the European Union (EU) enlargement process, focusing on the EU's evolving accession methodology and its emphasis on the 'fundamentals' approach. It examines the European Commission's criteria for 'functioning democratic...

EU enlargement has stalled since the last member joined over ten years ago, marking the longest period without expansion since 1973. This elapsed time contrasts with the potential income gains membership promises. Drawing on the biggest EU enlargement in 2004 and employing a synthetic...

The transition to a low-carbon economy requires an expansion in the production of clean energy technologies. Recent shifts in the European Union's industrial policy aim to boost local manufacturing and attract clean technology production to Europe. This paper uses a data-driven scenario approach...

Past trauma resulting from personal life shocks, especially during periods of particular volatility, such as regime transition (or regime change), can give rise to significant long-lasting effects on people's health and well-being. We study this question by drawing on longitudinal and...

Entrepreneurship is deeply rooted in tradition and culture in many countries; however, transitional market economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) underwent 40-45 years of socialism, which disrupted these traditions by collectivising private property. Education is recognised as a key tool...

The capital markets are sensitive to geopolitical events. It is important to provide evidence of reactions to specific geopolitical events in order to identify general patterns and effective risk management strategies. This study follows the event study approach to assess the reactions of...

Past trauma resulting from personal life shocks, especially during periods of particular volatility such as regime transition (or regime change), can give rise to significant long-lasting effects on people's health and well-being. We study this question by drawing on longitudinal and...

This paper examines the state of innovation in Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern EU countries. Despite increased innovation capacity, the region faces significant challenges threatening its growth and competitiveness, including severe skills shortages, uneven productivity, and barriers to...

The agriculture sector is increasingly challenged to maintain productivity and sustainability amidst environmental, marketplace, and geopolitical pressures. While precision agriculture enhances physical production, the financial resilience of agricultural firms has been understudied. In this...

This study assesses the quality of financial reporting in ten Central and Eastern European countries using a methodology based on natural language processing (NLP) techniques. 570 annual reports of companies listed on the main index on the stock exchanges of 10 Central and Eastern European (CEE)...