Development In Serbia Research Articles

Potentials of electronic business development in Serbia

Intensive application of information and communication technology (ICT), particularly Internet in selling and buying business processes have caused development of electronic business (e-business) concept. Numerous organizations in the world and in Serbia as well have implemented the concept. The basic aim of the paper is to analyze level of internet technology and e-business implementation in Serbia. The paper has theoretical background explaining concept of e-business and ICT which supports the implementation of this concept. However, empirical or practical contribution of the paper is articulated through analysis of data considering application of ICT and e-business concept in Serbia. The data considering application of ICT and e-business concept in Serbia is collected by Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia and encompasses households/individuals and enterprises in Serbia. Results of the research presented in the paper can help executives in Serbian organizations in planning e-business concept implementation as well as researchers in deeper study of this theme.

Uloga finansijskih berzi u razvoju tržišta kapitala u Srbiji i zemljama regiona

The successful development of the economy of a country is conditioned, among other things, by development of its capital market. One part of the capital market is the stock exchange where are securities purchased and sold. The subject of this paper is to analyze key indicators of capital market development in Serbia and the region, with emphasis on stock exchanges. Its aim is to provide insight into the factors that led to the current situation on those markets and to propose measures to overcome the current difficulties. The first part of the paper is tabular and graphical analysis of the main indicators of capital market development. The second part presents overview of the current situation and current problems that shakes capital markets in these countries. The conclusion is consideration of measures to overcome the problem.

The importance and the role of factoring in enterprise liquidity management: The development trends in Serbia

The aim of the paper is to identify the importance and the role of factoring, as financial instrument, in the period of the current financial crisis, and to assess the trend of its development in Serbia, as a way to solve the problem of SMEs illiquidity. By reviewing relevant literatures on factoring and analyzing global trends, the paper predicts the trend of development for Serbia. Emphasising the importance of the development of factoring in Serbia, we will cover the overview and trends for factoring usage in the five leading economies of the Europe, as well as the activities of factoring in the control group of countries in the region, according to the data during the economic crisis of 2008-2012. We define the projections of growth of factoring as percentage of GDP in the short, medium and long term. The empirical analysis indicates that the trend of factoring in the leading European countries and a control group of countries in the region, will reflect on Serbia. In addition, the paper analyzes the role and the importance of factoring for SMEs development, where the increase the use of factoring operations would have resulted in solving the liquidity problem.

Water supply in households and conditions for tourism development in Serbia

The global structural change, together with "the green revolution", caused the economic growth to be based on the service sector today, instead on the traditional economic sectors. The main focus of this paper is on the factors that affect the decisions of households in Serbia to participate in the tourism industry in the context of the sustainable development. In particular, a significant portion of the analysis is devoted to the constraints that can be induced by inadequate drinking water supply and its quality in households. These factors can be considered the main limitations to those households that decide to provide accommodation and food services to the tourists in their local touristreceiver communities. The empirical analysis is based on survey data that describe conditions in the households, whereas the econometric framework is employed in order to determine structural relationships. The null hypothesis that drinking water supply and quality do not affect the likelihood of the household participating in the tourism industry is tested and accepted based on the probit model estimates. The difference between the public urban and local water supply systems that provide drinking water to the households is statistically confirmed, but it does not affect the likelihood of the household participating in the tourism industry.

The application of marketing mix conept in organic production

Organic production is becoming increasingly significant, not just because of its positive impact on the rural development, protection of the environment, and advancement of human health, but also because of its impact on economic prosperity. In the developed economies, this method of production represents a dominant factor of progress. The purpose of this paper is to present possibilities for organic production and provide the guidelines for its development in Serbia, through the application of an extended model of marketing mix, developed specifically for the purpose of this research, aimed at economic development.

Smart, connected products as a new competitive advantage: Challenges for Serbia

The current debate among scholars of innovation and competitiveness centres on the concept of smart connected products (SCP). In this review article, we attempt to engage Serbia in this global debate by explaining the core concepts and arguments, building on previous research, and demonstrating how the developments in Serbia's ICT sector exemplify the new theory. We present the cases of three companies engaged in the production of SCPs, namely Schneider Electric DMS NS, Strawberry Energy, and Bitgear. Whilst the bulk of the IT production and exports volume in Serbia can be ascribed to outsourced, general software programming, these case studies are evidence of future potential of SCP (or Internet of Things) development. For more companies to specialise and successfully compete at the global level, additional, principally foreign investment in the sector is required. The key limitation here, in addition to the deficiencies in the business climate, is the availability of quality human resources, which calls for increased public funding of education in the relevant ICT skills, a more comprehensive reform of research and innovation infrastructure and gearing publicly available funding for innovation principally via institutions like the Innovation Fund, which is functioning based on best international practices.

THE PROBLEMS OF SERBIAN SELF-DETERMINATION IN FOREIGN POLICY: THROUGH THE THORNS TO THE “STARS” OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The article deals with the features of contemporary political development of Serbia, including the main areas of cooperation with the European Union (EU). Since the early 2000s the strategic priority of the country's foreign policy is participation in the European integration process, which is accompanied by support of consistent and pragmatic relations with the other key partners, primarily with Russia. The principle of multi-vector foreign policy has been developed since the fi rst half of the 2010s, but its use is treated with the lack of uniqueness by different social strata and political movements. Mechanisms of acceleration or slowing down the integration process are used by offi cial Brussels depending on the current aims and political conjuncture (for example, to weaken Russian infl uence in the country and in the region). However, despite the success achieved on the path to the EU accession and the favorable dynamics of negotiation process, the level of support of pro-European policy has been decreasing in Serbian society since the end of the 2000s. The main challenges of the near future, in addition to the growth of euroscepticism, include problems of institutional harmonization with the EU and the compliance with the Copenhagen criteria, the enforcement of the Brussels agreement with Pristina, as well as maintaining of balanced foreign policy.

Potentials For Agro-Energy Crops Production: Example Of Miscanthus Cultivation In Serbia

Abstract In accordance with priorities of sustainable development in Serbia, production and use of biomass is crucial for provision of annually renewable national sources of energy and for environmental quality conservation. Rural development has typically focused on improving agricultural production and promoting market orientation, however, as the examples of other countries in the EU accession process have shown (e.g. Slovakia), such an approach could threaten the survival of rural population. Biomass production is one of the key sectors with significant potential for diversification of rural economy. The results of multiannual research work supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia through national scientific projects and several international initiatives are summarized in this paper. The research activities focus on Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deu. The production potentials of miscanthus on fertile and degraded soils were investigated since 2009 in experimental plots established on moderate and extremely degraded lands in Serbia, applying various agrotechnical measures in different ecological conditions. The results show that fertile agricultural land as well as moderate degraded areas provide suitable conditions for miscanthus biomass and viable rhizomes production for energy and ecoremediation purposes.

Global Communications Newsletter

The growth rate of information communication technologies (ICT) in developing countries is accelerating. It is both socially and economically desirable to stay abreast of technological developments, and some newer technologies (e.g., wireless communication) have actually allowed developing countries to leap-frog past inadequate infrastructure. However, economic factors have caused the distribution of a new ICT infrastructure to be uneven. In rural areas development is very slow, and a new digital/broadband gap is increasing. The situation is similar to that in the developed world. In early 2009 it was estimated that 30 percent of the rural European population still have no broadband access. Today, there are very limited public data available on the development of the telecommunications infrastructure in urban and rural areas. In this article we present our research on urban-rural technological developments in Serbia. In principle, the research can be generalized to represent the situation in other developing countries.

An Overview of Agritourism Development in Serbia and European Union Countries

The paper presents the status and potential development of agritourism in Serbia and in some countries of the European Union. The authors have analyzed the villages where the agritourism is the most developed, providing an overview of the number of registered agritourism units and the number of beds in four tourist clusters (91 municipalities) in Serbia. At the European Union level, the authors represented the LEADER program, which aims to connect rural economy and development activities in rural areas in the EU Member States. The paper also deals with the basic data and characteristics of agritourism development in countries where this type of tourism is highly developed (United Kingdom, France, Benelux states, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and Hungary).

Improving human capital in Serbia

The author identifies the level of human capital development in Serbia, then he analyses the limitations of human capital development, and finally he proposes measures and activities needed for the improvement of human capital. The aim is to pave the way for human capital development in Serbia. Research uses the inductive and deductive methods, analysis and synthesis, statistical and comparative method. Human capital is viewed through four key components: education, health, work and socioeconomic environment. The level of human capital development in Serbia was identified through the prism of Human Capital Index from Human Capital Report of the World Economic Forum. Human capital development is observed in the context of economic growth speed. The conclusion of the paper is that human capital in Serbia is at a low level and that its improvement requires reform of education and health, employment growth, labour market reform and good socioeconomic environment.

The impact of demographic processes on the functional urban regions' development in Serbia

Based on the relevant theoretical and methodological approaches and settlement-demographic components, in this paper is determined a functional urban settlement structure in the territory of the Republic of Serbia. Chronological overview of the changes in urban settlement's population from the postwar period to the present was intended to show the relations between demographic processes and development of the functional urban regions, to determine the degree of spatial differentiation of the territory of the Republic of Serbia and to establish the trends of the settlement formation as one of the factors of spatial and regional development. Small functional urban regions (whose center consists of urban settlements with 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants) are proposed as the instruments for decentralization of the territory of the Republic of Serbia. On the basis of current functional urban structure and spatial demographic polarization of the Republic of Serbia, generally are given the possible planning directions with the aim of rational regional development of the entire area.

Limitation for sustainable development of the Republic of Serbia

In the first part of the paper we analyze core limiting factor for sustainable development in Serbia - delay of transition process, and unused experience of countries that had been in transition. Even one decade later, Serbia is not acknowledged post-Washington consensus recommendations based on the experiences of some countries in Central and Eastern Europe. If sustainable development is understood as a country's ability to function in the given capacity, it is clear why in that second part of the paper we analyze the external imbalance of the Serbian economy. In the third part of the paper we analyze the recommendations for a new strategy of sustainable development. The economic development today is based on three sectors: financial intermediation, retail and wholesale trade, transportation, and telecommunications - that belong to non-exchangeable sector of the economy. Serbia needs to strengthen exchangeable sector in order to have export-stimulated growth instead of demand-stimulated growth.

Possibilities for the Serbian financial sector development

The development of the financial sector represents a topic which has been studied for a long time in the world economy. Many aspects of the aforementioned development have attracted the attention of economists around the world. The world economic crises has additionally encouraged the analysis of this topic. The topic of this work is the study of aspects relevant for the development of the financial sector in Serbia. Particular attention is paid to the perspective of the volume and velocity of possible financial development in Serbia. An additional dimension that we analyse in this paper, is the connection between financial development and gross domestic product growth. The structure of the Serbian financial sector is marked by the domination of the banking system. Bearing this in mind, special attention in the work is paid to the perspectives of the commercial banking development in Serbia, but we have also taken into account other segments of the financial sector. We have conducted an analysis of the impact of the financial sector of Serbia on the economic growth in recent period. The analysis of the current situation and perspectives of financial sector development and its impact on GDP is presented. The goal is to determine the optimal financial growth and business scope for the viable economic growth in Serbia. Carefully planned, a moderate, balanced growth of financial operations can make a significant contribution to the viable economic growth of the Serbia, as well as to the maintenance of the financial stability.

Najznačajniji proizvodi i usluge islamskog bankarstva

Islamic banking is only a segment of overall banking industry, but its significance is rising steadily. Although still only a 'niche' of the global banking market, it plays presently important role, while its significance will be even more important in the future. Islamic banking is relatively unknown to us. In our nearest neighborhood there are only two banks operating under Islamic i.e. Shariah principles. There is one bank in Bosnia&Herzegovina, although operates for fifteen years, only lately begun to significantly increase its assets and activity. There is also one small bank in Albania. Islamic banks, especially in light of the latest economic and political developments in Serbia (Etihad's acquisition of JAT, the project 'Belgrade Waterfront', etc.) are not so far away from the Serbian banking system, so it is necessary to understand the basic products of Islamic banking, which is the topic of this paper.

Innovation infrastructure for techonlogy transfer and difusion in Serbia

The research presented in this paper shows that for successful development of the innovative enterprises in Serbia, collaboration with all innovation stakeholders is needed. It points out the importance of effective technology transfer as a factor of economic and technological development in Serbia. Based on data of empirical research on innovation activities in enterprises in Serbia in the period 2008-2010, conducted by the Republic Statistical Office, the usage of the various sources of information for innovation is explored. Some innovation infrastructure forms in Serbia are presented as tools with function of research results commercialization. The Enterprise Europe Network is listed as an international incentive mechanism for technology transfer in Serbia.

The competitiveness of agricultural products: Case study of plum production and sale

The presented analysis of basic agricultural products, on the example of the fruit growing sector (the case study of plum), with quantitative data on the marketing channels subjects level, points that in the family-owned farms the most common goods turnover is the natural consumption aimed to satisfy own needs, with a low level of marketability and competitiveness. As a measure of success and development of Serbia's agriculture, the data of the fruit growing sector's marketability (the case study of plum) are presented, i.e. the average rate of movement, the manifestation of the variance coefficient around the computed average value of a given activity of the marketing channels. The small agricultural properties have a scattered production, an insufficient sale structure, and the present marketing channels fail to realize a safe placement of the seasonal products. In this research the recommendations are presented for achieving agro competitiveness and a higher export orientation.

Explaining differences for Serbia and Slovenia in mathematics achievement in fourth grade

This paper presents the findings that are parts of a larger international project studying the achievements in mathematics and science for students in primary and lower secondary education. Specifically, we focused on the study of differences in mathematics achievement for Serbian and Slovenian fourth-graders. The study used a sample of 7,861 fourth-grade students from Serbia (N = 3,736) and Slovenia (N = 4,125). The results showed that Serbian students had higher overall achievement and scored higher in both the number content and the knowing cognitive domains, whereas Slovenian students scored higher on the geometry content and the data content domains, also having a higher balance among achievements for both content and cognitive domains. It was also found that Slovenian students had higher self-confidence in learning mathematics. Because there were no other significant differences between Serbia and Slovenia with respect to two other contextual variables and the correlations among these three contextual variables, the explanations of the achievement differences were based upon the consideration of various aspects of curriculum, teaching practice, and teachers' professional development in Serbia and Slovenia. The paper raises the question of educational implications of these findings and the possible directions of improving the quality of mathematics teaching.

Foreign direct investments and unequal regional development in Serbia

Foreign direct investments are an important factor for economic growth in Serbia. Most of the foreign direct investment in the period 2001 to 2012 was in the Belgrade region and, to a lesser extent, in Vojvodina. This spatially concentrated distribution caused an increase in regional disparity in Serbia. The connection between foreign direct investment and regional disparities can in part be explained by the current stage of economic development. However, in the case of Serbia, one of the main reasons was the lack of a clearly defined policy to attract foreign direct investments, the collateral damage being the increase in regional disparities.

Cooperatives in Serbia: Evolution and current issues

Cooperatives in Serbia have long history, evolving from big traditional families to the contemporary social networked organizations and even private companies acting like coops. Current legal framework, on one side, enables many possibilities, but on the other side prevents further development of cooperatives. An interview of key players in the coop sector was one of the research methods. Other methods include historical method, comparative analysis method and case study method. In conclusion, the major obstacle for the further coops development in Serbia is legal status of ownership. Other obstacles are: the level of state interference, the loyalty of primary producers and participants, the average land size per households, etc. The paper includes three parts: historical evolution, successful case study and framework for future development.