Siniša Milošević1, Dejan Trifunović2 and Jelena Popović Markopoulos1
In this paper, we will analyse the impact of the effective application of the competition policy to the economic development of developing countries. Many empirical papers suggest that the existence of the competition policy does not significantly affect the level of the GDP per capita, and that only its effective application is important. We will take the same approach and use the World Economic Forum index as a proxy for the effective application of the competition policy. We will demonstrate that a part of the variations in the GDP per capita between developing countries could be explained by an effective application of the competition policy.
Rade Stankić, Biljana Jovanović Gavrilović and Jasna Soldić Aleksić
Education has always been a driving force behind economic prosperity. However, this has become especially important in a globalized knowledge- and new-technology-based economy. The research presented in this paper focuses on the relationship between ICT, population education, and economic growth and development. The analysis of this relationship is based on the latest data collected from relevant national and international institutions. The results obtained from a survey conducted at the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade, are also analyzed. The paper highlights the challenges faced by the education systems in general, and the education system of the Republic of Serbia in particular, confronted with the new wave of technological innovation which is fundamentally changing the nature of work and imposing new requirements with regard to the necessary knowledge and skills. Our research results indicate that ICT and education have been recognized by the Government of the Republic of Serbia as the important determinants of economic and the overall social development.
Vladimir Mićić
Experience and good practice show that, in order to achieve economic growth and development, changes in the economic structure need to be made. They have an influence on the relative share, place and role of certain activities in the economy and they are the driver of sustainable economic development. Efficient structural changes are related to the capability of an economy to create more propulsive economic activities. The subject matter of the research in this paper is the determination of the degree of the determination of the economic development of the Republic of Serbia by the sectoral structure of the economy. The research goal is to indicate the adequacy of the size of and contribution of the sectors to the creation of gross value added and the total employment, i.e. the influence of the size, intensity and directions of changes between the sectors on the economic development. The research results are indicative of the fact that the achieved level of the development and low growth rate of the economy of the Republic of Serbia are the consequence of insufficiently comprehensive and intensive changes, changes that are late and are not stable. The future development of the economy will directly depend on the speed of changes and the creation of a modern sectional economic structure, especially the development of a propulsive manufacturing structure or “4.0 industries”.
Nenad Stanišić
One of the main expectations in European transition economies is that the processes of building the market economy and European integrations lead to a significant increase in the living standard, as well as to catching up with the level of the income per capita achieved in developed European economies. A quarter century after the beginning of transition, many of the former socialist countries joined the EU and significantly increased their GDP per capita. On the other hand, transition in the countries of the so-called Western Balkans has disappointed in this sense. The paper tests the existence and speed of income convergence in the Western Balkan states and developed EU countries, in comparison with the so-called „New Member States”. The results indicate that, despite the achieved income convergence in the pre-crisis years, the outbreak of the global economic crisis has revealed many structural and reform problems that the countries of the region have been facing for a long time. Catching up with developed EU members’ average GDP per capita stopped in the Western Balkan states after the beginning of the crisis, with a simultaneous increase in the income gap between the Western Balkan states and the new EU member states.
Vladimir Mićić
This paper examines industrialization and structural change induced thereof, which are the main drivers and bearers of economic development. The author observes that the industry of the Republic of Serbia is devastated due to sudden and premature tertiarization as well as inadequate reforms. The current structures of both the economy and the industry do not have a sufficient capacity to ensure sustainable economic development; hence, the aim of the research presented in this paper is to emphasize the importance of reindustrialization and the implementation of structural changes in the Republic of Serbia. The paper starts from the premise that industry is the main driver and the bearer of economic growth and development. Therefore, it is necessary for the Republic of Serbia to turn to reindustrialization and implement structural changes in this sector given the fact that the levels of the development and competitiveness of the industry are correlated to the intensity of industrialization. The research findings indicate that developed industrial countries are characterized by more effective structural changes and more propulsive production that creates higher value-added products. This reflects not only at the level of the industrial development but also at the level of the competitiveness, volume and quality of exports.