Kosovo has embarked on a journey of digital transformation, developing digital infrastructure to provide access to households, companies, and educational institutions and modernizing its public finance system through GovTech. Digitalization and GovTech can facilitate Kosovo leapfrogging into...

IMF Fiscal Affairs Department mission reviewed Kosovo's tax administration progress, highlighting achievements in increased revenue collection and compliance risk management. Recommendations for further improvement include focusing on digital transformation, enhancing human resource capacity,...

This paper examines the evolution and challenges of Kosovo's pension system. Since its inception, a basic pension and mandatory individual accounts have formed the key element of Kosovo's pension system. Over the years, the pension system has expanded to include a variety of merit pensions,...

This paper analyzes the transmission of ECB policy rate changes to bank interest rates in Kosovo during the 2022-23 tightening cycle. While both lending and deposit rates increased, the passthrough was more limited compared to the euro area and regional peers. Three key factors explain this...

This paper analyzes reserve adequacy measurement in Kosovo, where euro serves as the legal tender. The study adapts the IMF's Assessing Reserve Adequacy framework to Kosovo's unique monetary context, focusing on precautionary motives for holding reserves. The analysis reveals limited readily...

Kosovo's female labor force participation ranks among the lowest globally, resulting in a substantial gender participation gap. This paper examines the drivers of this phenomenon and estimates the potential economic gains from eliminating this disparity. Additionally, it introduces a framework...

This paper highlights recent trends in the Kosovo labor market and emigration. Like other Western Balkan countries, Kosovo experienced a sharp decline in population over the previous decade, as emigration increased. Using a structural model of the labor market and migration, the paper examines...

This report aims to identify barriers, needs, and potential opportunities for Kosovo to digitally transform its basic education system to strengthen efficiency and improve student performance in foundational skills (including digital skills). The rest of the report is structured as follows....

Since 25 June 2024, the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) have been engaging in accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. The EU wants and needs to provide a strategic response to new geopolitical challenges, especially the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. At the same...

Migrationspolitik ist mittlerweile ein zentrales Thema bei Wahlen. In der Debatte um eine bessere Steuerung von Migration kommen wesentliche Aspekte allerdings zu kurz. So sind wir in Deutschland längst auf Erwerbsmigration angewiesen, zugewanderte Arbeitskräfte kompensieren den...

Remittances play an essential role in the interlinkage of migration and development. While past research has focused mainly on the monetary flows and their determinants, this article offers a deeper understanding of remitting as a social practice. Our research contributes to the emerging...

ECDC is helping countries in the Western Balkans and Türkiye to improve their infectious disease prevention and control systems and public health workforce to prepare them for their future participation in ECDC's work. Technical cooperation with Western Balkans and Türkiye aims to improve...

Soil contamination in the Western Balkans is a significant challenge, hampered by inadequate legal frameworks, lack of comprehensive field data, and insufficient site investigations. This report aims to support the JRC's efforts to fill information gaps on soil pollution across the Western...

As Europe and the United States head into key elections, the strained security situation in northern Kosovo and heightened tensions between Kosovo and Serbia are raising concerns about stability in the region. To restore its credibility, particularly in its pursuit of EU and NATO membership,...

As Europe and the United States head into key elections, the strained security situation in northern Kosovo and heightened tensions between Kosovo and Serbia are raising concerns about stability in the region. To restore its credibility, particularly in its pursuit of EU and NATO membership,...

The project's main aim is to strengthen cooperation within the Western Balkans and between the region and the EU on fighting organised crime and terrorism using modern tools and instruments. This will lead to an enhanced level of interaction and integration between the EU and the Western Balkan...

The project's main aim is to strengthen cooperation within the Western Balkans and between the region and the EU on fighting organised crime and terrorism using modern tools and instruments. This will lead to an enhanced level of interaction and integration between the EU and the Western Balkan...

The SBA has served as insurance against adverse shocks while guiding reforms to strengthen fiscal and financial governance and foster growth. The RSF has supported climate reforms to increase generation of renewable energy, boost energy efficiency, enhance regional cooperation, and strengthen...

This paper presents an in-depth overview of foreign direct investments (FDI) in Kosovo's economy over more than twenty years. FDI has played a central role, proving indispensable to the development of Kosovo's economy. Thus, FDI is primarily directed towards economic activities like real estate,...

Migrationspolitik ist mittlerweile ein zentrales Thema bei Wahlen. In der Debatte um eine bessere Steuerung von Migration kommen wesentliche Aspekte allerdings zu kurz. So sind wir in Deutschland längst auf Erwerbsmigration angewiesen, zugewanderte Arbeitskräfte kompensieren den...

Recent developments, outlook, and risks. Kosovo's economy has continued to perform well, despite a challenging external environment. Real GDP growth moderated to 3¼ percent in 2023 amid subdued external demand. Inflation has decelerated sharply, reaching 2 percent y/y in the first quarter of...

This research investigates the synergistic relationship between sustainability and financial prosperity in businesses, specifically focusing on the impact of consumers on profit growth in Kosovo and Albania. The study aims to understand consumers' perceptions of their purchases, the factors...

The Kosovo Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Project (KEEREP) successfully generated direct and indirect employment opportunities in Kosovo through EE retrofits and related activities. The project also contributed to skill development and market growth in the EE sector, potentially leading...

The Kosovo Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Project (KEEREP) successfully generated direct and indirect employment opportunities in Kosovo through EE retrofits and related activities. The project also contributed to skill development and market growth in the EE sector, potentially leading...

Since 25 June 2024, the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) have been engaging in accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. The EU wants and needs to provide a strategic response to new geopolitical challenges, especially the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. At the same...

Even though the six Western Balkan countries (WB6) have close political ties with the EU, their alignment with the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) has increasingly come into focus since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The EU should take a differentiated...

Schon jetzt sind die sechs Westbalkanländer (WB6) politisch eng mit der EU verbunden. Doch seit Beginn des russischen Angriffskriegs auf die Ukraine rückt nun auch die Frage einer Annäherung der WB6 an die Gemeinsame Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik (GASP) stärker in den Fokus. Die EU sollte...

Über den Jahreswechsel haben sich die Spannungen zwischen Serbien und Kosovo wieder einmal verschärft. Dies geschah im Kontext der Verhandlungen über einen neuen Vorschlag der EU - den deutsch-französischen oder "europäischen" Vorschlag -, der darauf abzielt, die Beziehungen zwischen...

Over the new year, tensions between Serbia and Kosovo rose once again. This occurred in the context of negotiations on a new European Union (EU) proposal - also known as the Franco-German or "European" proposal aimed at formalising relations between Belgrade and Pristina, much along the lines of...

Kosovo is a country profoundly shaped by migration. A growing body of literature pays tribute to this. However, up to now, it has barely focused on the implications of return. Female returnees – and especially highly skilled female returnees – are even less likely to be in the focus of...

This paper explores the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on the banking sector, focusing on the escalation of credit risk and its effects on non-performing loans (NPLs), loan loss provisions, and economic activity in the Republic of Kosovo. Amidst the global health crisis, the banking...

With the ever-increasing development in information and communication technology and the spread of the internet into personal computers and mobile devices, the promotion of products has become an essential component in the new digital age, mostly thanks to digital marketing.  Every day,...

The main purpose of this study is to empirically analyse key internal factors influencing loan risk management of Kosovo’s commercial banks. This research adopts parametric statistics and employs a multilinear regression model. The data used for the analysis covers 7 banks for the 12 years...

The aim of this study is to examine the professional standards of journalists in Albania and Kosovo in order to determine the relevance of Hallin and Mancini's media system in the age of digital journalism and social media. This is because the media system continues to be an important analytical...

Contemporary studies of politics highlight the significance of public activism and participation in governance. These mechanisms and the formulation of public policies foster interaction between institutions and society, promoting democracy, transparency, cohesion, and inclusiveness. However,...

With a view to integration into the European Union, the efficiency and competitiveness of the Kosovo’ different sectors (including agriculture) must be improved. This paper assesses the technical efficiency (TE) of horticultural farms through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) applying output...

The third Annual Meeting of the Initiative for coal regions in transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine took place on 27 and 28 November 2023, gathering around 160 in-person attendees and on average 90 online attendees over the 1.5-day event. Live streaming and interpretation were available...

The Gender Equality Index of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) is the main tool to monitor and measure progress in achieving gender equality. It allows us to check how gender equality policies and other related EU policies affect the state of play of gender equality in the...

Kosovo has gained a creditable reputation for prudent macro-fiscal management; yet necessary structural reforms and related fiscal pressures lie ahead. The country's track record includes consistently high output growth rates, prudent fiscal deficits supported by fiscal rules, and one of the...