7 ways the Western Balkans can develop an innovation ecosystem to grow the economy

7 WAYS THE WESTERN BALKANS CAN DEVELOP AN INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM TO GROW THE ECONOMY The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the growth of the economies around the world, including those of the Western Balkans. In 2020, according to the World Bank, the Western Balkan... More

7 WAYS THE WESTERN BALKANS CAN DEVELOP AN INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM TO GROW THE ECONOMY The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the growth of the economies around the world, including those of the Western Balkans. In 2020, according to the World Bank, the Western Balkan economies collectively contracted by 3.4% compared to 7.0% in the European Union (EU). Even though the economic downturn in the Western Balkans has been lower than in the EU, the Western Balkans still lags the EU in terms of income, development, and quality of life. According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), under the most pessimistic scenario, it can take the Western Balkans until about 2220, or about 200 years, to converge with EU’s quality of life. The optimistic scenario is that the convergence would occur by 2053. To speed up the convergence, the Western Balkans need a high and a sustained long-term economic growth. The region is not blessed with an abundance of quickly commodifiable natural resou Less