The development of the Balkan region

Book abstract:

This book examines the economic performance and structure of the Balkan region. It examines aspects such as trade relations, foreign direct investment, the performance of industry, the level and quality of infrastructure, the domestic policies of transition and European Union policies in the region. The findings of the book are that the Balkan region will diverge further from more advanced European countries and that the economic thinking of integration-transition dynamics needs to be re-evaluated.

The book is divided into two parts. The first provides details of comparative research work on a broad range of analytical and policy issues such as the structure of the economy and its performance in the Balkan region, intra-Balkan trade and economic cooperation, foreign direct investment in the area and the nature of structural reform. One chapter is specifically devoted to a comparison of infrastructure upgrading in transition countries while the following chapter examines why economic performance should differ between transition countries and looks at how the Balkan region might develop in the 21st Century. The final chapter in part one discusses the EU policies aimed at reconstruction and development in the Balkans since the beginning of the 1990s with particular attention given to the PHARE programme and trade and economic cooperation agreements.

Part two consists of a series of case studies examining aspects of integration and co-operation in respect of Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, and Romania.

Overall, the book provides sixteen detailed analyses of the economic structure of the Balkans and of its relationship with other European countries and the EU itself, reflecting the increasingly important role of the region in European politics.