📖 Our latest Brief 67 – who made the most of the government’s anti-crisis measures?

Today marks two years since the attack on #Ukraine – the date associated with the start of the 🍞 food and 🔌 energy price crisis.
📖 On that occasion, our latest Policy Brief 6️⃣7️⃣ examines who has made the most of the government’s anti-crisis package.
📍 The measures saved a significant #part of household income, especially the #poorer households and especially the measures from the #last package that are in force during this year 2024.
📍 However, as a significant contingent of the measures were #untargeted, especially from the #first package, they allocated/saved a larger #amount of income to wealthier households.
📍 Although the targeting of the measures from the third package is the largest of all three packages, at least two of the measures carry the risk of an increased budget burden. In particular, support for #pensioners remains relatively broadly targeted and resembles a #pre-election measure.
📎 cutt.ly/1wNYtgx0
The analysis is supported by SMART Balkans.

Finance Think has become part of the European Economic and Social Committee, EESC

Finance Think became part of the European Economic and Social Committee, EESC.

📣 On Thursday, the EESC officially launched its initiative to involve representatives of #civil society from EU candidate countries.

🎖 Finance Think is part of 5️⃣ selected representatives of civil society from North Macedonia, in addition to representatives of employers and workers (unions).

As representatives of civil society from candidate countries, we will contribute to the process of drafting selected #opinions of the EESC and participate in relevant #study groups, section meetings and selected #plenary sessions of the EESC.

#EUCivilSociety #Enlargement #EESC #FinanceThink

Findings from our #study at a conference in Pristina

🗣️  We shared the findings of our #study on unregistered micro-executives of economic activity at the conference “Shaping the future agenda for reducing the #administrative burden in the Western Balkans”, which was held in Pristina, Republic of Kosovo, February 7-8, 2024.

🟡 The European Union and the #German Government, OECD/SIGMA and GIZ Kosovo are investing in the dialogue on the various stages of service delivery reform, with the aim of reducing administrative burdens and ensuring high-quality and easily accessible services for businesses and citizens in the #WesternBalkans.

#GrayEconomy #AdministrativeBurden

Photo credit: GIZ Kosovo

In an interview for MRTV, Blagica Petreski talks about current economic topics.

⚠️ ВThe second domestic risk for inflation is what pressure the general increase in wages and pensions will have on prices. A cost of living adjustment is fine, it just preserves the real purchasing power of the recipients, but any increase above that is a risk in an inflationary environment. It is legitimate what the unions demand that wages should rise significantly, and I #agree with that, but in the long run, more wages come with more #work and greater #skills, that is, all of this defines the #productivity of labor. We suffer from chronically low labor productivity and this is a major determinant of wage growth. Let’s have no doubt that any wage growth that exceeds productivity growth will only affect #prices in the long run, so the standard of living will not improve in real terms.

 

More: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2coqh0KeeY

Two rankings for independent assessment of our work

⚠  At the end of 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣, a look at two #international rankings with an independent assessment of our work.

1️⃣ According to Webometrics, Finance Think is the fourth-ranked #research center in North Macedonia, the only #economic research center in this ranking, after the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Institute for Earthquake Engineering at UKIM and the Institute for Social and Human Sciences Skopje bit.ly/3TyVlaV

2️⃣ According to IDEAS/Repek at the Federal Bank of St. Louis – USA, Finance Think is the third-ranked institution in the group of ‘economic #faculties and #institutes’, after the Faculty of Economics at UKIM and the Faculty of Business Economics at UACS bit.ly/3RKs1N0

#EconomicResearch #ranking #FinanceThink

A review study presented at the conf. from the Aspen Institute Germany

🗣️ Productive discussions at the “Digitalization and Democracy” conference, which was organized by the Aspen Institute Germany and was held in Podgorica, Montenegro, December 10-13, 2023, with participants from the Western Balkans, Germany and other EU countries.

🖥️ Our Maria Bašeska addressed how technology and digitization can be key to #economic development, with lessons learned from our work in the domain of #parafiscal duties. Maria’s contribution is based on a review study that Finance Think prepared at the invitation of the Aspen Institute.

#aspen #digitalization #WesternBalkans

Navigating labor shortages – Conference in Budapest

📖 Our recent #study on the occupation and wage gaps in the Western Balkans contributed to the discussion at the regional conference “Navigating #labor shortages in the Western Balkans”, which is being held in Budapest, Republic of Hungary, December 12, 2023, under the auspices of International Labor Organization.
🗣️ Our Blagica Petreski spoke on the panel “Unpacking labor shortages – an academic perspective”.
👥 At the conference, in addition to the academic perspective, the perspectives of employers and trade unions from all countries of the Western Balkans were represented.

📖 Our newest study at a closing event in Tirana

📣 Our Executive Director, Blagica Petreski, presented the latest findings from the #study on undeclared work, produced together with the International Labor Organization / ESAP 2, at the final event “Innovation, Learning, Action: Answers for Formalization and Better Working Conditions”, in Tirana , Republic of Albania, December 5-6, 2023.

📖 Policy study no. 4️⃣9️⃣: “Informal employment and undeclared work in the ‘hotels, restaurants and catering’ sector: Insights from North Macedonia”, will be published soon!