Economic and Policy Foundations for Growth in South East Europe ― Remaking the Balkan Economy

In recent years, South East European economies have been damaged by the effects of the global and Eurozone crises. This volume offers an analytical and practical guide to policies that can help the region move to a sustainable growth path. The authors argue that this is a challenging agenda in the present circumstances: the region is lagging behind Western Europe in key reform areas, and the appetite for further reform is limited. This volume shows that there is a general need to reform fiscal institutions in SEE in order to better prepare them for the appropriate analysis, formulation, and implementation of fiscal policies. The authors also argue that, in light of the evolving financial architecture in Europe, macroprudential tools can provide (to varying degrees) the means to better attune monetary conditions to national requirements and to help assure financial stability.

Adam Bennett is a coordinator of the Political Economy programme of South East European Studies at Oxford University, and Deputy Director of the programme on the Political Economy of Financial Markets. He is also an external lecturer at Cardiff University. Previous appointments include Senior Advisor at the International Monetary Fund, and Economic Advisor at H. M. Treasury. His published work has ranged over macroeconomics, monetary economics and post-conflict economics.

G. Russell Kincaid is a member of the Academic Steering Committee for the Progamme on the Political Economy of Financial Markets at St. Antony's College, University of Oxford, and a macro-financial consultant. Prior to 2013, he was a Director at the International Monetary Fund where he served for 35 years. He has published on issues related to macroeconomic and financial policies, exchange rate assessments, and sovereign debt management and restructuring. He obtained his Ph. D. in economics from Columbia University.

Peter Sanfey is Deputy Director of Country Strategy and Policy at the EBRD. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University and previously taught at the University of Kent. He has published widely in academic economic journals and is the co-author of a 2010 book (with Christopher Cviic) on the political and economic reemergence of South East Europe.

Max Watson was a Visiting Fellow and Director of the Political Economy of Financial Markets programme at the European Studies Centre, St Antony's College, Oxford, where he also coordinated political-economy work on South East Europe. He was a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, and a Trustee of the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society. He was previously a Deputy Director of the IMF; adviser to the Director-General of Economic and Financial Affairs at the European Commission; a Director of the Central Bank of Ireland; a Director of the consultancy John Howell & Co Ltd; and an adviser at the Bank of England.