The efficiency of public expenditure and economic growth in the countries of the Western Balkans

Abstract

The countries of the Western Balkans are facing a number of challenges. One of the most acute ones, certainly, is improving the efficiency of public expenditure. Having this in mind, the main research objective of the paper is to present the interdependence between public expenditure and economic growth in the Western Balkans. In addition, the analysis is focused on the efficiency of public expenditure in the group of the above-stated countries, as well as the relationship between the size of public expenditure and its efficiency in these countries. Data from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum were used for the analysis. The results reveal that this interdependence in the countries of the Western Balkans, in addition to different intensity, has a different direction.