Faculty of Economics
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Item type:Publication, Life Expectancy and Income Inequality in North Macedonia: An Empirical Analysis(Faculty of Economics-Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, 2025-12); ; - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, FISCAL MULTIPLIERS – NEW KEYNESIAN VS NEOCLASSICAL PERSPECTIVE AND A POSSIBLE SYNTHESIS(Faculty of Economics, University of Nis, 2025-10); ; - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The Role of Institutions in Economic Growth: A Systematic Literature Review(Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Economics and Business, 2024); ; Purpose: This paper gives a systematic literature review of the research field of institutions and economic growth. The goal of the paper is to provide information on predominant trends in publishing studies, prevailing sentiments on the role of institutions, and emerging themes in the field, to identify gaps in the existing literature and possible avenues for further research. Methodology: The study systematically reviews papers on institutions and economic growth from the Scopus database following the PRISMA protocol. The research uses descriptive analysis (annual distribution of articles, frequently referenced papers, central and emerging topics), sentiment analysis, and keyword co-occurrence network analysis. Results: A total number of 78 papers published between 2006 and 2023 were analysed. The results suggest a growing interest in the subject, encompassing topics such as governance, human capital, trade openness, and the resource curse. Sentiment analysis suggests that most of the literature is optimistic about the impact of institutions on fostering economic growth. Keyword analysis indicates that institutions, governance, and economic growth remain key areas of interest, with increasing emphasis on region-specific research and empirical approaches. Conclusion: The prevailing research indicates that quality institutions play a crucial role in economic growth, enhancing the impact of other factors like financial development, trade openness, and human capital. The review underscores the pivotal role of institutions in sustaining long-term economic progress and suggests further exploration of less researched areas, such as regional development and entrepreneurship, and the utilisation of additional scientific databases to deepen our comprehension of institutional dynamics. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The Role of Institutions in the Economic Growth of OECD Countries(2024-12); ; ; This paper analyses the role of institutional quality in determining the economic growth in the OECD countries from 1995 to 2021 concerning the institutional economics framework developed by North (1990) and further advanced by Rodrik (2000) and Acemoglu et al. (2005). Institutions are viewed as the formal and informal structures that regulate economic, political, and social activities and are considered the key to influencing economic performance through the minimisation of transaction costs, encouragement of innovation, and human capital development. The theoretical framework assumes that inclusive institutions foster sustained economic growth while extractive institutions stifle development by consolidating power and assets. This paper hypothesises that institutional quality positively influences economic growth in OECD countries. Using panel regression models and Employing the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom Index and the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom as measures of institutional quality, it examines how government size, property rights, regulation, and trade freedom affect growth. The findings reveal that institutional quality has a positive but varying impact on economic growth. In particular, small government, low taxes, and good monetary policy are positively related to higher growth rates. However, factors such as property rights and trade freedom have either weak or negative coefficients of correlation with growth. The results suggest that fiscal prudency and sound money supply policies are conducive to growth, but other institutional factors are not as straightforward in their influence on growth. This study is useful for policymakers who wish to improve economic growth through institutional change. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Социјалните расходи – предизвик за фискалната одржливост(Македонска академија на науките и уметностите, 2023); Social expenditures have been on the rise over the past decades, particularly in developed countries. The average public social spending rose from 11% of GDP in 1970 to 21% of GDP in 2022 across the OECD, with most of the social expenditure devoted to pensions and health care. While social welfare is intended to protect the public against vulnerabilities in life (old age, unemployment, sickness and poverty), social spending is often blamed for the rise in government expenditures and public debt in advanced economies, for dominating public expenditures and crowding-out other productive expenditures. This raises questions about whether existing social welfare programs are sustainable and about the need for adjustments to accommodate the predicted growth of old-age related expenditures amidst adverse demographic trends. However, social expenditures tend to be quite resilient to reduction. One of the most complex challenges is to reconcile the commitments to welfare provision with economic and fiscal pressures that threaten fiscal sustainability. This also applies to the Republic of North Macedonia, as population ageing and the notable emigration of young people pose significant challenges for maintaining fiscal sustainability via rising social expenditures and declining government revenues. This paper focuses on the size, dynamics and structure of social expenditures in the European Union and in the Republic of North Macedonia. This will provide some insight into the potential risks to fiscal sustainability from rising social expenditures that can be useful to policy makers in creating future policies for addressing this issue. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Fiscal decentralization and economic growth: Empirical evidence from European countries(Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Faculty of Economics-Skopje, 2024-05); <jats:p>In this paper we empirically investigate the relationship between fiscal decentralization and economic growth in the European countries, using panel dataset for 31 European countries, over the period 1972-2012. Our empirical results indicate that fiscal decentralization, quantitatively measured as the ratio of local government expenditures and revenues in general government expenditures and revenues has a favorable impact on economic growth in the European countries and also that revenue decentralization is shown to be more effective than expenditure decentralization in terms of stimulating economic growth. Further, our empirical results also suggest that the relationship between decentralization and economic growth is nonlinear, i.e. there is a certain optimal level of fiscal decentralization in terms of economic growth. This means that fiscal decentralization is expected to have a more pronounced positive impact on growth in less decentralized countries, while in more decentralized countries, a further increase in decentralization starts to hinder economic growth. In addition, the growth-enhancing effect of fiscal decentralization is even strongly confirmed in our subsample of advanced European countries, when long termed effect of decentralization was examined. Therefore, compared with our previous findings on the impact of fiscal decentralization on growth in Central and Eastern European countries, we find that fiscal decentralization has a different impact on economic growth in advanced European countries vis-à-vis Central and Eastern European countries, i.e., while it enhances growth in the former, it hindered growth in the latter.</jats:p> - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The economics of tobacco farming in North Macedonia(European Publishing, 2023-10-08); ; Tobacco leaf cultivation occupies around 3.2 percent of total arable land in North Macedonia. North Macedonia is the second largest producer of oriental-type tobacco leaf after Turkey. In 2021, the total production of tobacco was 24,329 tons from 15,457 hectares of land, with an average yield per hectare of 1,574 kilograms. North Macedonia ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2006, which introduced a legal commitment for the reduction of tobacco production and consumption as well as to help those who are employed in the tobacco sector to find alternative viable livelihoods. The process of EU integration will require the reduction of crop-specific subsidies, likely leading to less income to tobacco farmers and an eventual reduction in the area harvested. The Government adopted a new Strategy for Tobacco Production (2021–2027) in which there is envisaged indirect support for tobacco farmers, but reparations will be made with education and counseling for future change to other crops. Tobacco farming traditionally has been supported by the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia. However, there is not enough research on the economic livelihood of tobacco farmers. Тo fill this gap and to provide results to support evidence-based policy and decision-making, a survey with a nationally representative sample was conducted. The survey comprises 806 farming households from 14 municipalities (urban and rural) in the top tobacco- producing regions in North Macedonia. Target groups (categories of respondents) for the survey are the following: 1. tobacco farmer (the respondent is a farmer who grew tobacco in 2021); 2. former tobacco farmer (the respondent is a farmer who grew tobacco in any year before 2021 and now cultivates other agricultural crops); and 3. never tobacco farmer (the respondent is a farmer who cultivates any agricultural crop other than tobacco and never cultivated tobacco previously). Survey results: - Around half of tobacco farmers are not turning a real profit. While most tobacco farmers believe they achieve positive “perceived” profits (excluding the value of household labor), with only a few households perceiving negative profits, around half of the households actually achieved negative “real” profits. - Most farmers struggle financially, living with an average monthly income below the average net monthly wage and below the value of the minimum household consumer basket. - Pensions and remittances are one of the most important components for maintaining an adequate level of income and standard of living for tobacco farmers’ families. Although they spend the most time in the field, current tobacco farmers have a higher incidence of poverty compared to former and never tobacco farmers. - Compared to former tobacco workers or never tobacco workers, the median current tobacco farmer devotes more time to growing crops. The median male farmer worked 1400 hours on tobacco cultivation, while the median male former and never tobacco farmers worked 1000 hours and 1260 hours, respectively. - Тhe children of tobacco farmers are more involved in farming relative to other farmers’ children. Children’s help in the harvesting of tobacco is 2.3 times more common compared to children’s help in harvesting other crops; however, no farmer reported hiring children to help with tobacco cultivation and children do not appear to be engaged in potentially harmful activities related to pesticide/ herbicide application. - Compared to other crop activities, tobacco cultivation typically requires significantly more pesticide. Pesticides are related to persistent health challenges for farmers and damage the environment through contamination of groundwater and watersheds. - Tobacco farmers show signs of green tobacco sickness, a form of acute nicotine poisoning. - Current tobacco farmers are more likely to rent land for farming compared to former and never tobacco farmers. In the survey, 22.2 percent of current tobacco farmers and 13.7 percent of former tobacco farmers stated that they rent land from others. - The vast majority of farmers reported having a contract with a leaf buyer. Survey results shows that almost all tobacco farmers (94 percent) in all major tobacco-growing regions have signed contracts with tobacco leaf buyers. More than half (57 percent) of the tobacco farmers say they are satisfied with the concluded tobacco agreement, while 36 percent are not. Tobacco cultivation is not as profitable as the government suggests. Thus, highlighting tobacco as a highly profitable crop is unfounded. This research indicates it would be much better for tobacco farmers, in terms of labor and economic efficiency, to reorient and grow another crop or pursue other economic activities in their local economy (such as wage work or small business). Around half of tobacco farmers are not turning a real profit. The opportunity cost for unpaid family labor makes growing tobacco unprofitable. Revenues of tobacco farmers decrease significantly when the opportunity costs are calculated. Household members could better allocate their labor to other tasks that earn money; not doing so results in significant economic loss for those tobacco families. Poverty rates among tobacco farmers are slightly higher than the nationwide poverty rate. Current tobacco farmers have the highest incidence of poverty when considering per capita income. Despite their high poverty rate, only a small share of tobacco farmers use some form of social assistance. Input costs for growing tobacco are typically very high, particularly compared to most other crops. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Tobacco farming and the effects of tobaccosubsidies in North Macedonia(E.U. European Publishing, 2022-07-05); ; - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Фискална политика, фискална одржливост во мала и отворена економија во услови на глобалните економски нарушувања – случајот на Република Македонија(Институт за икономически изследвания при Българка академия на науките и Македонска академија на науките и уметностите, 2017); Глобалната економска криза, како и Европската должничка криза ставија нов акцент на одржливоста на јавните финансии и силно ја истакнаа потребата од балансирање помеѓу краткорочните стабилизациони цели и долгорочната фискална позиција. Во ваква ситуација на брзо зголемување на јавниот долг, чувствителен економски раст и сè уште разнишана доверба на меѓународните финансиски пазари, проблематиката на фискална одржливост стана значајно прашање и тема на голем број истражувања, студии и книги. Овој проблем е исклучително важен за земјите членки на ЕУ, а уште повеќе за земјите кои планираат да се интегрираат во ЕУ, имајќи предвид дека при глобални економски нарушувања се покажа дека фискалната политика е првиот “камен на сопнување” за одржливата макроекономска стабилност на унијата. Република Македонија, како претставник на малите и отворени економии не беше исклучок од глобалните трендови во оваа насока. Силната фискална експанзија во последните неколку години во земјава ја стави на испит нејзината фискална одржливост, со оглед на брзата динамика на пораст на нивото на задолженост. Имајќи ја предвид големата важност на фискалната одржливост за макроекономската стабилност на земјава, во фокусот на овој труд се јавните финансии, фискалната политика и фискалната одржливост на Македонија во услови на последните економски нарушувања- глобалната криза и Европската должничка криза. Централниот акцент на трудот е ставен на утврдувањето на долгорочната одржливост на фискалната политика низ елаборирање на движењата на главните фискални варијабли и досега реализираните емпириски истражувања со цел јасно укажување на потребата за приспособување, промена на курсот кон консолидација и зголемување на ефикасноста на фискалната политика. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Ефикасноста и одржливоста на јавните финансии во Република Македонија(Македонска Академија на Науките и Уметностите, 2019); Глобалната економска криза, како и должничка криза во Европа, ставија нов акцент на одржливоста на јавните финансии и силно ја истакнаа потребата од балансирање помеѓу краткорочните стабилизациони цели и долгорочната фискална одржливост. Во ваква ситуација на брзо зголемување на јавниот долг, чувствителен економски раст и сè уште делумно разнишана доверба на меѓународните финансиски пазари, проблематиката поврзана со јавните финансии и фискална одржливост станаа значајно прашање и тема на голем број истражувања, студии и книги. Овој проблем е исклучително важен за земјите што планираат да се интегрираат во ЕУ, имајќи предвид дека при глобални економски нарушувања се покажа дека фискалната политика е првиот “камен на сопнување” за одржливата макроекономска стабилност на унијата. Македонија, како претставник на малите и отворени економии, не беше исклучок од глобалните трендови во оваа насока. Силната фискална експанзија во последните неколку години во земјава ја стави на испит нејзината фискална одржливост, со оглед на брзата динамика на пораст на нивото на задолженост. Во оваа насока треба да ги имаме предвид сите фактори и предизвици со кои се соочуваме, а кои ја прават нашата економија исклучително ранлива на промени во опкружу- вањето со понатамошни реперкусии врз фискалната сфера. Ова е првиот предизвик во равенката на фискалната политика што ќe биде анализиран, втората исклучително важна тема која e елаборирана во трудот се однесу- ва на ефикасноста и на ефективноста на јавните финансии во Македонија и нивните ефекти врз економската активност. Со цел да се зголеми ефи- касноста на трошењето на јавните пари, како посебен предизвик се јавува усогласувањето на фискалните реформи и на задолжувањето со структур- ните реформи (во сферата на трудот, социјалата, трговијата, СДИ), како и сериозно мерење и управување со резултатите од овие реформи.