Competitiveness and EU accession - Finance Think

Unlocking female economic potential – beyond gender boundaries

financethink — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 11:54:51 +0000

The objective of this action is to empower and enable women to reach their full potential in the labor market, with a particular focus on productivity.

Specific objectives include:

To identify drivers of low female participation in the labor market and female productivity, by producing evidence and generating knowledge;
To emphasize the importance of decent jobs, a stimulative environment, working conditions, and systemic support as drivers of productivity and women’s potential, by piloting measures at “Comfy Angel” and in collaboration with the business sector;
To stimulate policy dialogue among relevant stakeholders (policymakers, business sector, Federation of Trade Unions);
To advocate for policies that enable decent jobs and a stimulative environment that will boost female productivity.

Donor: British Embassy in Skopje

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Competitiveness Policy Priority Identification in the Western Balkans

financethink — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 19:05:46 +0000

The objective of the project is to identify and address policy priorities in each of the six Western Balkan economies, unlocking growth opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region. The project is supporting the implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans (EIP) for the period 2021 – 2027, aiming to develop and implement a comprehensive program to enhance the competitiveness of the private sector in the region’s countries.

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The post Competitiveness Policy Priority Identification in the Western Balkans first appeared on Finance Think.

The post Competitiveness Policy Priority Identification in the Western Balkans appeared first on Finance Think.

State aid and foreign direct investment in the Western Balkan countries: Fostering transparency and generating space for regional coordination of investment policies

financethink — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 22:16:18 +0000

The overall objective of the project is to improve transparency of and to generate evidence on the FDI-related state aid in the context of the regional integration of Western Balkan countries.

The overall objective is broken down to the following specific objectives:

To identify (map) state aid programs and key measures and relate it to measurable indicators of effectiveness,
To produce evidence on the state aid granted to foreign companies in view of its effectiveness and of support to the regional integration,
To increase public awareness at regional, national and local level by influencing public discourse on the importance of state aid transparency and alignment with the EU requirements, and as a promotor of regional integration

Donor: Open Society Foundations – Western Balkans

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Diagnostics of the informal economy in North Macedonia

financethink — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 15:39:33 +0000

The objective of the action is to diagnose the informal economy, re-estimate its size and the size/importance of its various facets, by relying on tax administration data. By so doing, the action will create a roadmap of actions and direction of resources that will produce the maximal result.

Donor: International Labor Organization

Duration: September – December 2023

The post Diagnostics of the informal economy in North Macedonia first appeared on Finance Think.

The post Diagnostics of the informal economy in North Macedonia appeared first on Finance Think.

The perfect storm: Food and energy insecurities threaten the economies of the Western Balkan

financethink — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 17:56:35 +0000

The main goal of the project is to generate evidence and foster a policy dialogue for the food and energy insecurities in the Western Balkan economies pertinent to four key fronts: household livelihoods, firms’ competitiveness, fiscal space and the regional integration.

The specific objectives include:

To employ and empower the WEBecon network with respect to the national and regional policymaking processes on food- and energy-related policies, by generating evidence on the effects of the crisis on the WB economies and on the regional integration,
To enhance the policy dialogue and cooperation on energy and food supply security, by creating space for wide stakeholders’ consultations and networking at the regional level,
To increase the public awareness for the importance, consequences of and solutions to the food and energy crisis, including through regional approaches.

Donor: SMART Balkans Project

Duration: January 2023 – January 2025

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The post The perfect storm: Food and energy insecurities threaten the economies of the Western Balkan appeared first on Finance Think.

Open Balkan: Free regional movement of labor in conditions of shortage of qualified workers?

financethink — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 21:28:43 +0000

The goal of the project is to assess how the free movement of (skilled) labor in the Open Balkan Initiative will affect the labor market in North Macedonia, and thus to encourage a reasoned debate and adjustment of policies to maximize benefits and minimize risks.

Specific objectives include:

Generating knowledge about how the free movement of (skilled) labor included in the Open Balkan Initiative will affect the labor market in the country;
Encouraging evidence-based public debate about the benefits and challenges of the issue;
Contribution to economic policies related to the labor market and bilateral social security agreements, in the context of the implementation of the requirements of this Initiative.

Donor: Foundation Open Society Macedonia

Duration: September 2022 – September 2023

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Scoping study to investigate the demand for green and social financing in North Macedonia

financethink — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 15:45:12 +0000

The objective of this study is to conduct the diagnosis – market analyses of high potential sectors in North Macedonia from a green and social stand point and to assess the market potential for new development credit lines.

Client: Agence Française de Développement

Partner: GFA Consulting Group

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The post Scoping study to investigate the demand for green and social financing in North Macedonia appeared first on Finance Think.

Action for formalization of micro-performers of economic activity in the informal economy

financethink — Tue, 31 May 2022 18:38:10 +0000

The purpose of this action is to increase the formalization of micro-companies in North Macedonia, ie performers of economic activity in the informal economy. Hence, the action addresses legal informality. More specific objectives of the action include:

Understand the reasons for the informality of micro-operators in the informal economy (high fees, high administrative burden, low probability of being discovered, poor awareness of the benefits of formalization, etc.)
To understand the activity of informal micro-performers
To design a map / list of all fees, including parafiscal charges, related to starting a micro-business and running it in the early years
To propose: a) a plan for reduction of the costs for firming of micro-performers of activity, including rationalization of the duties identified in 3; and b) policy measures (fiscal, labor, information) that will encourage greater formalization of micro-operators.

Client: GIZ North Macedonia

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The post Action for formalization of micro-performers of economic activity in the informal economy appeared first on Finance Think.

Data analysis and report on Balkan Barometer 2022

financethink — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 13:03:09 +0000

The objective of the project is to conduct a data analysis and contribute to the underlying report on Balkan Barometer 2022.

Client: Regional Cooperation Council

Partner: ACIT – Albania

The post Data analysis and report on Balkan Barometer 2022 first appeared on Finance Think.

The post Data analysis and report on Balkan Barometer 2022 appeared first on Finance Think.

V4 support to promote WB6 Common Regional Market: one market for post-COVID recovery

financethink — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 11:23:57 +0000

The project focuses on sharing experiences, transferring knowledge and recommending further regional economic integration through development of the WB6 Common Regional Market using experiences from ex-CEFTA and V4 after integration into the EU single market.

Donor: International Visegrad Fund

Leader: Montenegrin Pan-European union

Duration: 1 October 2021 – 30 September 2022

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The post V4 support to promote WB6 Common Regional Market: one market for post-COVID recovery appeared first on Finance Think.