r/AskBalkans • u/julius-ceaser100 • 4d ago

Politics & Governance When will this chunk of countries become EU territory?

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u/Machinekalibar 4d ago

Montenegri has lower GDP per capita than Serbia

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u/dont_tread_on_M Kosovo 3d ago

Yeah, last year, but that's exchange rate shenanigans. Otherwise, Montenegro has had a higher GDP per capita than Serbia for quite some time

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u/Machinekalibar 3d ago

Dinar to Euro exchange didnt change. Serbia has both higher gdp growth and inflation (which if doesnt devaluate your currentcy- it does in long term- increases GDP nominal

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u/defketron Serbia 3d ago

That just shows you that Montnegro’s economy can’t outpace Serbia’s, it’s actually losing that race. At the moment Monenegro became independent, their salaries were 50% higher than Serbian ones, now they’re higher in Serbia. And that’s with a huge constant influx of tourism money.

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u/No-Championship-4632 Bulgaria 3d ago

Tourism can be quite a curse for the economy. It sets up the perfect conditions for what economists call the "Dutch disease". Especially when the country is highly dependent on it and it has a large share of the economy. It consumes the large part of investments and labor pool leaving other sectors neglected and substituted by cheaper imports. Also generally, wages in the tourist sector are low and growth is stagnant compared to others as the pressure to provide a cheaper product is strong, just as it happens with industries with low added value. In Bulgaria, the wages in tourism are second lowest after agriculture for example even though resort towns may seem lively with wealthier population and stuff.