This autumn the World Bank published its regular report on the economies of the Western Balkans, and its special topic is titled From Market Entry to Sustained Exports. The authors followed exports through customs data, down to the level of individual export relationships. Thanks to that, we can see something the aggregate export figures do …
Category: Economic Development
Impressions from a study visit on BIM and building permits in Estonia
This week I spent two days in Tallinn with partners from the BIM4Gov project. People go to Estonia to see what a digital state looks like: since 2024 there has been no public service there that is not digitalised, and the last one to move online was divorce. In the same year, every municipality made …
Knowledge management in companies
Knowledge management in companies is not a new topic. However, it is becoming increasingly relevant in a time of rapid change that requires companies to learn and adapt quickly, as well as in a time of growth among domestic firms that are reaching the point where it becomes a problem that most of the knowledge …
Looking at economic development through Helmuth von Moltke’s military glasses
21st century is the time of increased complexity and thus uncertainty. But that doesn’t mean that things weren’t complex and uncertain before. I have found an example of how the German army used to cope with the uncertainty which I would like to share: for others to read it and for me not to forget …
Where does economic growth really come from and what can B&H do about it
I’ve been listening to Pitchfork Economics podcast Where does economic growth really come from? and it’s great. Here‘s a link. This concrete podcast is part of a greater series that I still have to explore, but this episode alone has a few very useful insights and great guests: W. Brian Arthur and César A. Hidalgo. …
Will it be better if we solve the problems of this country?
I’m not sure the majority of things we identify as problems of this country are relevant to the citizens. I’m also not sure that these are actually problems. And if they are, let’s not miss to ask a question I often hear from a friend: To who is this a problem? There’s one more question …
Science fiction and Economic development
Science fiction is my favorite genre, regardless if it’s books, movies or TV shows. I enjoy reading about Isaac Asimov‘s worlds and galactic empires, and I usually don’t breathe while watching movies like Inception and Arrival, or TV shows like Dark and famous Star Trek. Who wouldn’t be interested in topics like space traveling and discovering new populated planets …
Employment programs and current causes of unemployment in B&H
There are currently several employment programs in Bosnia and Herzegovina financed by donor organizations, that operate alongside regular programs organized by Employment Offices. They are doing well in helping people gain the necessary skills for getting a job. Some training programs are better than others, some vocations are better paid than others, some people are more interested in …
Work on interactions first?
I live in a country that used to be more developed than now (before transformation from socialism to partocracy, civil war, etc). We used to have big enterprises, research and development institutes, laboratories, universities and high schools that were interconnected with enterprises very much, etc. Our products used to be much more complex then now …
Mesopartner Summer Academy 2018
It’s been a month now since I had the privilege to attend Mesopartner Summer Academy 2018 (MSA) in Berlin, together with my colleges from Eda and from Ministries related to SMEs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was my second MSA, since I also attended the one organized in 2016 (dedicated to Green Economy). MSA is a …