Making sense of competitiveness indicators in south-eastern Europe

This paper sifts through a variety of competitiveness and business environment indicators to assess the state of reforms in south-eastern Europe (SEE). While common themes emerge, such as corruption, weak tax administration and the lack of availability of skills, there is a clear gap between those countries in the region that have joined, or are about to join, the European Union, and the remaining countries. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index signals some similarities across the region, but other sources of information, such as the World Bank’s Doing Business reports and the EBRD/World Bank Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey, show up marked cross-country differences. We conclude with a number of targeted recommendations for policy reforms in areas such as cross-border trade and investment, tax administration and the development of new skills and innovation.