Andrija Popović1, Andreja Todorović1 and Vladan Vučić2
This research explores the relationship between economic growth and competitiveness and innovation in the circular economy across the 27 EU countries from 2011 to 2020. Using descriptive statistics, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), panel data regression, and cluster analysis, the research investigates how the key economic indicators, such as GDP, GDP per capita, and gross fixed capital formation, affect the performance of the circular economy. The results obtained indicate a positive correlation between overall economic growth and circular competitiveness, though wealthier nations do not consistently lead in circular transitions. The analysis underscores the need for tailored, country-specific policies to promote sustainable practices in the circular economy, especially in less developed economies. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers aiming to balance economic growth with sustainability.
Nataša Milenković
The main driver of growth in virtually all economies that have achieved rapid growth in recent decades, especially Asian economies, were investment and exports. There is a general agreement that export expansion represents the most eff ective way for Serbia’s economic recovery. The experience of Asian countries, those with rapid growth, can provide guidelines on how the precarious condition of the Serbian economy can be improved to a certain extent. The exchange rate is an instrument of the economic policy that simultaneously aff ects both the investment and exports of a country, and is the one easier to run than many other factors of growth and development. Several indicators indicate the importance of the exchange rate as an instrument of the economic policy in increasing exports and investments in Serbia. These are, fi rst, the extremely positive experiences of Eastern Asia economies, whose exchange rate policies are the opposite to that of Serbia, the weakness of the domestic market, indicating the necessity of an increase in exports, and thirdly, the extremely low competitiveness of the Serbian enterprises and its economy.
Ljiljana Maksimović
The paper analyzes the ways for measuring competitiveness as well as the Global Competitiveness Index which, pursuant to the methodology of the World Economic Forum, ranks countries’ competitiveness within global frameworks. The analysis begins with a hypothesis that the macroeconomic performances of national economies are positively correlated with their global competitiveness index, which has been shown on the examples of Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia. The other hypothesis is that the bad macroeconomic performances of the Serbian economy and its bad ranking according to the Global Competitiveness Index are the result of the systemic limitations in the Serbian economy. The analysis presented in the paper shows that systemic limitations such as the concept of transition (privatization) and its realization, the concept of macroeconomic stabilization, the concept of institutional reforms and the concept of restructuring economy are the main originators of the non-competitiveness of Serbia’s economy.