ОТГОВОР НА НАЦИОНАЛНАТА ФИСКАЛНА ПОЛИТИКА НА ГЛОБАЛНАТА ЕНЕРГИЙНА КРИЗА В СТРАНИТЕ ОТ ЗАПАДНИ БАЛКАНИ: СЛУЧАЙЪТ СЪРБИЯ И СЕВЕРНА МАКЕДОНИЯ
NATIONAL FISCAL POLICY RESPONSE TO THE GLOBAL ENERGY CRISIS IN WESTERN BALKANS COUNTRIES: THE CASE OF SERBIA AND NORTH MACEDONIA

Author(s): Azemina Mashovic, Jelena D. Ignjatović
Subject(s): Economy, National Economy, Business Economy / Management
Published by: Висше училище по застраховане и финанси (ВУЗФ)
Keywords: Global Energy Crisis; Public Expenditures; Western Balkans; Serbia; North Macedonia
Summary/Abstract: Fiscal policy is a crucial stabilization policy of governments around the world and has a major role in suppressing the adverse impacts of unfolding crises. Its applicability is measured through the process of taxation and collection of public revenues to create funds for financing public expenditures. Therefore, fiscal policy implies the use of public revenues and expenditures that should be aligned with the main objectives of macroeconomic policy. Consequently, since the Western Balkans region, identical to other countries around the world, is in a period of the global energy crisis, the response of the national fiscal policy is of major importance. The subject of the paper is the analysis of the national fiscal policy response of Western Balkans countries to the global energy crisis with a focus on the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of North Macedonia. Using the available official data, the paper analyzes and compares the distribution impacts of the global energy crisis in selected Western Balkans countries in terms of public expenditure (percent of GDP). Furthermore, a comparison of the results of the selected Western Balkans countries with the average of the Western Balkans countries and the average of the EU countries was carried out. Eventually, the paper analyzes the national fiscal policy response of the selected countries in terms of wage bills (percent of GDP), social benefits (percent of GDP), and capital expenditures (percent of GDP) during the global energy crisis with those during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The applied methodology consists of qualitative research techniques, such as analysis, comparative analyses, and syntheses. Based on the obtained results, the paper's contribution is reflected in the determination of the importance of timely fiscal response of national governments and taking appropriate measures to mitigate the adverse impact effectively in the forthcoming period.

• Details
• Contents