Macroeconomic Dynamics of Slovenia and Comparable Central European EU Member States in the Period before Coronavirus Pandemic

Abstract

The article discusses the macroeconomic dynamics of Slovenia and four other comparable Central European EU member states in the period of twenty years before the coronavirus pandemic. To examine the differences between countries in more detail, we analyzed four periods: 2000–2004, 2004– 2007, 2008–2014 and 2017–2019. We studied the indicators of gross domestic product, gross investment,unemployment, wages, and exports. The findings ofthe research show that Slovenia's position deterioratedand stagnated until a few years before the global health crisis, while the position of most other countries improved. The key message of the research is that Slovenia did not use all its favorable economic and political foundations for growth and development before and in the years after joining the EU. Slovenia's process of approaching the average of the EU member states slowed down considerably until a few years before the pandemic, while the opposite happened in some of the compared Central European EU member states. The research indicates the need to study the factors of the above mentioned position of Slovenia in the observed period with the aim of preventing stagnation and promoting development.