Competitiveness in South East Europe
A Policy Outlook 2018
Future economic development and the well-being of citizens in South East Europe (SEE)
increasingly depend on greater economic competitiveness. Realising the region’s economic
potential requires a holistic, growth-oriented policy approach. Against the backdrop
of enhanced European Union (EU) accession prospects and a drive towards deeper regional
co-operation, SEE governments have demonstrated a renewed commitment to enacting policy
reforms.
The second edition of Competitiveness in South East Europe: A Policy Outlook seeks
to help SEE policy makers assess progress made towards their growth goals and benchmark
them against regional peers and OECD good practices. The 17 policy dimensions addressed
in this report encompass a wide range of areas key to economic competitiveness including
the business environment, skills and capacity, the region's economic structure and
its governance. The report leveraged a highly participatory assessment process which
brought together more than 1 500 individual stakeholders including OECD experts, SEE
policy makers, private sector representatives and regional policy networks and organisations
to create a balanced view of performance.
Since the latest edition of the report, there have been areas of noteworthy progress.
The six assessed SEE economies have adopted strategies to improve the overall standard
of education, acted to remove technical barriers to trade and taken steps to establish
better financing mechanisms for small and medium-sized enterprises. Further efforts
are underway to expand broadband services and close the digital divide, tackle inefficiencies
in the energy and agriculture sectors, and address demographic challenges posed by
long-term unemployment. Notwithstanding these important gains, there remain considerable
challenges for these economies as they continue their journey towards structural reform.
Published on April 24, 2018
In series:Competitiveness and Private Sector Developmentview more titles