balkan barometer 2015 - Regional Cooperation Council

Transcription

balkan barometer 2015 - Regional Cooperation Council
BALKAN
BAROMETER
2015
Public Opinion Survey
This project is funded
by the European Union
BALKAN
BAROMETER
2015
Public Opinion Survey
Analytical report
Regional Cooperation Council Secretariat (RCC)
Sarajevo, 2015
CONTENT
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015:
Public Opinion Survey
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................ 9
MAIN FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................................... 13
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015 - PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY RESULTS ..................................... 17
Author: Group of Authors – GfK
Editor: Erhan Turbedar, PhD (RCC)
Consulting editor: Vladimir Gligorov, PhD (WIIW)
Design: Team Thumm, Zagreb, Croatia
Print: Printline, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Circulation: 600
ISSN:
, Year 1, No. 1
Regional Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 17
Public Opinion Sentiment Survey ......................................................................................................... 21
BALKAN PUBLIC SENTIMENT INDEX .................................................................................................... 21
LIFE SATISFACTION AND ASSESSMENT OF GENERAL TRENDS .................................................... 28
ATTITUDES ON EU INTEGRATION AND REGIONAL COOPERATION .............................................. 40
INTEGRATED GROWTH – TRADE AND INVESTMENT INTEGRATION ............................................ 50
SMART GROWTH – PERCEPTIONS OF SKILLS AND EDUCATION PERFORMANCE .................... 57
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH – VIEWS ON CONNECTIVITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE .......................... 64
INCLUSIVE GROWTH – EMPLOYMENT AND INCLUSION ................................................................... 74
GOVERNANCE FOR GROWTH – SATISFACTION WITH PUBLIC SERVICES AND
ATTITUDES ON CORRUPTION ................................................................................................................. 82
Appendix ............................................................................................................................................................ 93
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................... 99
METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................. 103
© RCC 2015. All right reserved. The content of this publication may be used for non-commercial purposes,
with the appropriate credit attributed to the RCC. This publication does not reflect the views or policies of
the RCC or the EU. The interpretations and opinions contained in it are solely those of the author(s).
RCC publications are available on the RCC website (www.rcc.int).
6
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)
Secretariat coordinated the development of
the regional growth strategy titled “SEE 2020
Strategy: Jobs and Prosperity in a European
Perspective”. The strategy was adopted by
Ministers of Economy of seven South East
European economies (Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo*, Montenegro,
Serbia and The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia) on 21 November 2013. Inspired
by the EU`s 2020 Strategy it seeks to boost
prosperity and job creation and to underscore the importance of the EU perspective to the region`s future. The SEE 2020
Strategy contains eleven specific targets
covering the following five pillars:
• Integrated growth - by deeper regional
trade and investment linkages and policies enhancing the flow of goods, investment, services and persons.
participation by all, including vulnerable
groups and minorities.
• Governance for growth - by improving
the capacity of public administrations
to strengthen the rule of law and reduce corruption so as to create a business-friendly environment.
With the intention to engage more closely
the general public and the business community in the context of the SEE 2020
Strategy, the RCC has commissioned a comprehensive survey on attitudes, experiences and perceptions, which was carried out
in December 2014, in all seven economies
covered by the Strategy.
• Sustainable growth - by enhancing competitiveness, entrepreneurship and a
commitment to greener and more energy-efficient development.
This report presents the results of this
survey and includes two main components,
which are The Public Opinion Barometer a survey of public opinion of South East
Europe (SEE) citizens, and the Business
Opinion Barometer - a survey of business
sentiment. The report provides data and
analysis on various topics covered by five
pillars of SEE 2020 Strategy, including life/
business satisfaction, assessment of general
trends and attitudes on EU integration and
regional cooperation.
• Inclusive growth - by skills development,
employment creation and labour market
The surveys were conducted face to face
with 1000 respondents per each economy,
• Smart growth - by commitment to compete on value added, promoting knowledge and innovation across the board.
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
INTRODUCTION
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the
Kosovo declaration of independence.
9
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
10
with the total being 7000 respondents for
Public Opinion Survey aged 18 and old­er,
and for Business Opinion Survey 200 companies per each economy of different size
and differ­ent business areas, which are not
majori­ty-owned by the state or government.
A technical note concerning the methodology of survey is annexed to this report.*
The Balkan Barometer report is envisioned
to become an integral part of the SEE 2020
monitoring system, along with the other
components of Annual Implementation
Report, such as the SEE 2020 Scoreboard
and SEE 2020 Competitiveness Outlook.
The Balkan Barometer surveys will be conducted annually in order to assess how
these sentiments are changing and what
progress is being made.
* Throughout the report values in percentages were calculated using the decimal rounding so there is a chance of fluctuations
+/-1% in categorical variables (with 3 or more response categories).
The Public Opinion Survey has looked into
the current sentiment and the expectations
of the public in Southeast Europe. Besides
general assessment of the situation, the
main pillars of the SEE 2020 Strategy have
been covered.
The findings paint a stark picture of a set
of economies that have not been doing
well and are not expected to do much better in the future. On top of that, they are
burdened with difficult problems in all the
covered areas of growth: integrated, smart,
sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as
governance for growth..
The Balkan Public Sentiment Index (BPSI)
reports a sentiment that stands at around
one third of the best possible – and the
expectations are not much better than the
assessment of the current state of affairs.
The main problem in the region is lack of
employment and the general economic situation stemming from it or connected to
it. The paradox of this region is that the
issues of employment and unemployment,
which have been persistent since the start
of the transition, do not feature prominently in the successive elections. This seems
to have been changing very recently, but
still the political and security issues tend to
dominate the electoral agenda. Otherwise,
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
MAIN
FINDINGS
it would be hard to explain the toleration of
very high levels of unemployment for many
years, if not decades.
Lower welfare, incomes, and financial security must be the consequences of persistently
depressed labour markets. The social and
cultural problems also accumulate. Though
the perceptions of the poverty risk and the
lack of basic necessities are not catastrophic, they are certainly worrying. There is no
doubt that solutions to political and developmental issues need to be urgently found
for economic growth to accelerate.
There is general support for regional and
EU integration, though not without some
scepticism. The latter is a reflection of the
belief that the EU is not supplying, or supplementing the supply of the public goods
that the economies in the region are deficient in: security, stability, justice and, most
of all, welfare. The last is on the top of the
list of expectations from the EU integration.
This is in part due to the prolonged crisis
in the EU itself and to the stalled process
of enlargement.
Regional trade and financial integration is
looked at as one of the solutions to economic problems. The CEFTA is firmly entrenched in the conditions for economic improvement. The expectation is that regional
13
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
economic cooperation will be enhanced and
improved. Though, in some respects, market
integration seems to go against some of
the more protectionist beliefs of the public.
The region remains a migrant one. Given
the situation on the domestic labour markets, the relevant market to look for a job
is still the world, even before the region
itself. Intra-regional mobility is limited to
ethnic and traditional destinations. Still,
there might be increased opportunities for
intra-regional mobility especially because
of low language and other informal barriers.
Smart growth clearly has a chance in this
region because there is a widespread understanding that skills and their acquisition
are the answer to securing employment, increasing job security, and improving welfare.
This contrasts rather starkly with the mostly
weak investments in education and in innovation, what is characteristic to most of
the SEE region.
In the area of sustainable growth, there is an
emphasis on roads and their improvement,
while clearly the more glaring deficiency is
the lack of railways. Similarly, there is a perception that a sustainable environment is
needed, but there is scant indication that
this is being translated into policies, regulations and the needed investments.
14
There is a somewhat inconsistent perception of the inclusiveness of societies. In
most economies, people feel well integrated and accepted by their societies, while
they also tend to feel excluded from the
labour markets due to the importance that
connections and luck play in getting a job
and advancing in one’s carrier. This differs
from what is known from statistical sources
and the studies about the types and levels
of inclusion, or rather exclusion, where age,
skill, gender, loss of job, minority status and
disability tend to correlate with higher rates
of unemployment.
Finally, the overall assessment of the governance is that it is bad rather than good:
in terms of corruption, transparency, efficiency, and responsiveness. That certainly correlates with other evaluations of the
state of good governance in the region.
That is one crucial obstacle for growth and
development.
The overall conclusion is that a comprehensive, sustained, regional and EU-oriented
policy effort is needed in all the SEE region in
order to speed up growth and development.
PUBLIC OPINION
SURVEY RESULTS
Regional Overview
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
SOUTHEAST EUROPE: STILL A LOT TO DO
In the crisis that started in late 2008,
Southeast Europe (SEE) has been faced with
a recession or a growth halt and with persistent challenges in most markets, especially
in the labour market. The larger economies
experienced particularly difficult times, i.e.
Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina,
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Kosovo* and Albania have done better, with
Montenegro somewhere in the middle.
Table 1: Growth rates
Source: wiiw
Albania
200920102011201220132014
average
3.43.72.51.61.41.52.4
Bosnia and Herzegovina
-2.70.81.0-1.22.50.50.1
Croatia
Kosovo*
-7.4-1.7-0.3-2.2-0.9-0.6-2.2
3.63.34.42.83.45.03.8
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia -0.43.42.3-0.52.73.51.8
Montenegro
-5.72.53.2-2.53.31.30.4
Serbia
-3.10.61.4-1.02.6-2.0-0.3
Table 1 shows the growth rates. Croatia has
had an average growth rate of minus 2.2 percent from 2009 to 2014. Serbia had minus
0.3 and Bosnia and Herzegovina achieved
a growth rate of 0.1, while Montenegro a
growth rate of 0.4. Better growth rates were
seen in Albania 2.4, Kosovo* 3.8 and The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 1.8.
17
Source: wiiw
200920102011201220132014
average
Albania
13.814.014.013.415.618.014.8
Bosnia and Herzegovina24.127.227.628.027.527.527.0
Croatia
Kosovo*
9.111.813.515.917.217.314.1
45.445.144.830.930.030.037.7
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia 32.232.031.431.029.028.030.6
Montenegro
19.319.619.719.719.519.019.5
Serbia
16.119.223.023.922.117.620.3
In terms of the unemployment rate, shown
in Table 2, it increased significantly in most
economies, remained stable in Montenegro,
but decreased in The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia and Kosovo*. The levels are, however, exceptionally high. Table 3
shows unemployment rates amongst young
people from 2006 to 2012. For comparison
purposes, the figures show other Balkan
economies, the Southern European EU
member states, also Austria and Germany
together with the average for the EU 28.
Source: Eurostat and national statistics.
200720082009201020112012
Albania
20,127,227,2
Bosnia and Herzegovina
58,6
Croatia
7,3
48,9
023,627,9
57,6
57,5
62,8
2421,925,132,636,1 43
Kosovo*
60,2
18
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
57,756,455,153,755,353,9
Montenegro
38,830,435,645,5 3741,1
Serbia
43,735,241,646,250,951,1
Bulgaria
15,112,716,223,2 2528,1
Romania
20,118,620,822,123,722,7
Greece
22,922,125,832,944,455,3
Spain
18,224,637,841,646,453,2
Portugal
16,616,4 2022,430,137,7
Slovenia
10,110,413,614,715,720,6
Austria
8,7 8 108,88,38,7
EU-28
15,515,619,920,921,422,9
Finally, Table 3 shows the development of
real wages from 2009 to 2014. Wages have
fallen every year by 0.7 percent on average in Croatia and 0.1 percent in Serbia.
Growth of real wages has been slow in other
economies except in The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, 3.4, and Kosovo*,
growing at even 10.8 percent.
Table 4: Average real monthly wages, net
Source: wiiw. Note: For Albania real gross monthly wages.
Table 3: Unemployment rates of young people, ages 15-24
There is no doubt that it is exceptionally
hard for a young person to find a job in
this region.
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Table 2: Unemployment rates, LFS
200920102011201220132014
average
Albania
2.9-7.01.50.27.40.20.9
Bosnia and Herzegovina
5.6
Croatia
0.2-0.5-0.4-2.6-1.5 0.3-0.7
Kosovo*
-1.0
-1.4
-0.7
-0.1
1.5
0.6
23.312.313.4 -0.8 -1.217.510.8
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia 25.01.4-2.4-2.9-1.60.63.4
Montenegro
7.6 2.9-2.0-3.3-3.8 0.3 0.3
Serbia
0.20.70.21.1-1.5-1.5-0.1
Looking towards the future, prospects
are not improving very fast. Serbia and
Croatia are facing either recession or very
slow recovery this year and perhaps some
improvement in the next couple of years.
Bosnia and Herzegovina may benefit from
the reconstruction after last year’s flood,
while rather slow growth is expected in the
medium term. Of the other economies, The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
should continue to grow faster than the
rest, expected to experience some growth
acceleration in the medium term. Still, given
the low level of employment, the forecasted
growth rates are below the potential ones.
According to the estimates made by WIIW,
the range of growth rates in the medium
term is between 0 to 3 percent per year.
Until the 2020 horizon, a significant turnaround is possible only with some radical
changes. Beyond those covered in the SEE
2020 Strategy, probably the three most important ones are further improvement in
regional stability, an acceleration of EU integration, and strengthening the rule of law
and democratisation. Those would reduce
the regional and national risks that stand
in a way of improved investments prospects.
19
The opportunities are that the European
environment will improve with gradual
growth recovery. Also, that EU institutions
will strengthen and speed up investment
and structural changes. With most of the
exports from the SEE going to the EU market, that would help the transition to more
export-driven growth in the region, which
is certainly needed. In addition, regional investments in transport and the energy, discussed at the process that started with the
Berlin Conference on the Western Balkans
(28 August 2014) and complemented by
Western Balkans Six ministerial meetings,
could also be very helpful. In general, improved regional cooperation is expected to
positively affect economic situation of the
region.
The negative risks are connected with continued turbulences in the EU and in Europe
that may delay the integration process and
cause delays in domestic political and economic transformation. In most economies,
democratic decision making has stabilised,
however, there are still constitutional and
20
political changes and improvements that
are needed for improved democratic legitimacy and responsiveness.
Social risks exist due to low employment
and high unemployment. A particularly
vulnerable group is the youth population,
with unemployment rates up to 50 percent
in some cases, but also the long-term unemployed, which make up a significant part
of those searching for a job. The effects of
the lack of jobs are profound and have long
term negative consequences. In the past,
elections were won and lost on other issues,
with those regarding the labour market
playing a small role. This has been changing
and thus political responsiveness to social
issues should be expected to increase.
The overall sentiment in this region has
been gloomy for quite a long time. This is
the consequence of the long-term economic
deterioration and regress. The effects have
been profound and they are clearly reflected in the prevalent desire to emigrate and
work and live elsewhere. The period until
2020 can be the beginning of a turnaround.
Public Opinion Sentiment Survey
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
There are also significant challenges in economic policies. The crisis has been so severe
in some economies because of accumulated
imbalances both externally and domestically. Trade and current account deficits have
been very large and have gradually come
down in most economies. There are still significant problems in the banking and corporate sectors due to high levels of non-performing loans which reflect the liquidity and
solvency problems in e.g. the construction
sector and state owned enterprises. They
require restructuring that may prove to be
difficult to accomplish in the context of high
unemployment. This is done in an austere
fiscal and monetary environment, which
makes it difficult to implement.
BALKAN PUBLIC SENTIMENT INDEX
In order to monitor changes over time about
public present sentiment and optimism,
GfK was asked to design the Balkan Public
Sentiment Index (BPSI) which is composed
of the following five questions:
1. How are you satisfied with the way things
are going in your place of living? (answers: 5 point scale)
2. How are you satisfied with the financial
situation of your household? (answers:
5 point scale)
3. How are you satisfied with the economic
situation of your place of living? (answers:
5 point scale)
4. What are your expectations for the next
year? Do you think that in 12 months
your financial situation will be better,
worse, the same.
5.What are your expectations for the national economy? Do you think that in 12
months the state of the economy will be
better, worse, the same.
The index is constructed with the answers
on five-point scales scored as follows: I’m
completely dissatisfied - 0 points, I’m
mostly unsatisfied – 25 points, neither
satisfied nor dissatisfied – 50 points; I’m
mostly satisfied – 75 points, I’m completely
satisfied – 100 points. Answers for the Q4
and Q5 are scored as follows: better – 100
points, worse – 0 points, the same – 50
points. After responses are recoded, average value is calculated for the whole SEE
region as well as for each economy separately. The index values are expressed on a
scale of 0 to 100.
BPSI was further divided on the two sub
indexes with the aim to monitor separately
the present sentiment among population
as well as their expectation for the future
or their degree of optimism.
a) BPSI – Present Situation index
b) BPSI – Expectation Index
BPSI represents a measure of the current
and future state/expectations regarding
the general and economic situation and
the situation of individual households. It is
a measure that helps to monitor changes in
time on the SEE regional level and the level
of individual economies.
21
70.76
70.00
60.00
50.00
55.58
45.37
40.00
30.00
50.06
43.61
39.41
43.61
43.55 43.24
43.11
34.79
35.73
33.68
29.98
27.53
28.71
29.70
25.82
39.80
29.04 31.21
27.71
33.79
29.87
20.00
10.00
0.00
Kosovo*
BPSI
Montenegro
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
BPSI - Present Situation index
Albania
Serbia
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Croatia
SEE
BPSI - Expectation index
(Slight) Improvement is Expected
It is not unusual that expectations are more
optimistic than the assessment of the current state of affairs. Large discrepancies
like the one in the case of Kosovo*, which
is highly optimistic, are often observed in
other new economies, in the earlier stages of EU accession (this was the case with
Croatia initially and also Montenegro in the
recent past).
Somewhat better sentiments in Montenegro,
Albania and The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, both about the present and
the future, are consistent with better or
improved economic performance relative
to the past and to the other economies
in the region (see the tables and the figures above). Still, these economies are not
overly optimistic, except Albania, while The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has
22
expectations aligned with its current state
of satisfaction, in other words much faster
improvement is not expected.
Other economies show realistic assessment
of their current development and some
slight optimism, which may in fact suggest
an assessment of a rather high risk of future disappointment. In the case of Serbia,
Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, this
probably reflects the uncertainty about
the policy strategies that have been implemented or are being expected to be adopted (see Figure 1).
Overall, these are rather depressed sentiments throughout the region, which certainly are in accordance with the data on
performance.
Parallel to creating an index the changes of
which can be tracked in time, it is important to determine what and to what extent
effects the index itself the most, i.e. the investigated sentiment and level of optimism.
Considering how the SEE 2020 Strategy
consists of five pillars, each of which covers
a specific area and has set goals, this part of
the analysis aims at determining how much
each of the pillars (as an independent variable) effect the BPSI (dependent variable),
with the aim to invest more effort into obtaining set goals of „more important” pillars.
Besides the five defined pillars, the analysis
also includes the part relating to regional
cooperation.
The Figure 2 show the influence of each individual pillar on the BPSI for the SEE region,
and for each individual economy. Besides
that, in order to determine the priorities
in the realization of the SEE 2020 Strategy,
the importance relation of individual pillars
on the BPSI was shown, as well as the value of the pillar itself (see Figure 3 and 4).
The value of the pillar was calculated on the
basis of rescaled answers to questions that
make up each individual pillar. On the basis
of four quadrants (influence on the BPSI x
value of individual pillars of the index), it is
possible to determine which pillars have an
above average influence on the BPSI, and
their current state (index value).
In order to conduct the described analysis, we first verified the reliability of the
chosen questions (Reliability analyses)
from the questionnaire (those questions
the structure of which did not support an
analysis were excluded) with the help of the
Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 0,83 (on a
scale of 0 to 1). With the help of this coefficient, we determined that the reliability of the chosen variables (questions) is
very good, i.e. that the correlation between
the chosen questions is high, which leads
to the conclusion that they measure the
same phenomenon.
The average pillar importance was calculated with the formula 100 (total importance)
/ 6 (number of pillars) = 16,6. While for the
average index value, a value of 50 was taken
(on a scale from 1 to 100).
After that, a regression analysis was used
(with the help of a Shapley value) to determine the influence of each of the chosen
questions on the BPSI. For further analysis,
the questions chosen were the ones that,
in most economies, have an above average
importance (influence on BPSI). The list of
all of the questions that entered the analysis are presented on the next page. On the
basis of the conducted analysis, we can say
that the chosen questions are the best predictors for the BPSI, i.e. they best represent
each individual pillar.
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 1: Balkan Public Sentiment indeks
(0-100 scale)
Questions that were used for each individual pillar in the analysis.
GOVERNANCE FOR GROWTH
1. How satisfied are you with public services
in general in your place of living?
2. Do you have confidence in courts and the
judiciary in your place of living?
3. Do you agree or disagree that in your place
of living the law is applied and enforced
effectively?
4. Do you agree or disagree that your government fights effectively against corruption?
5. How would you grade (from 1 to 5, 1 meaning very poor and 5 excellent) the following: Price of public services (e.g. issuance
of personal documents, judiciary costs etc).
REGIONAL COOPERATION
1. Do you agree that the relations within
SEE are better than 12 months ago?
23
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
46
High
SMARTH GROWTH
1. How satisfied are you with the quality of
schools/education system in your place
of living?
Figure 3: Pillar Importance vs. Pillar value (SEE region)
Governance
for Growth
41
36
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
1. How satisfied are you in general with the
quality of the transport infrastructure
(please take into consideration all transport types together: public transport,
quality of roads, railways, airports) in your
place of living?
2. How satisfied are you with utility services
(water and sewage, electricity, gas supply, telephone, internet) in your place of
living?
IMPORTANT, BUT NOT ON THE
REQUIRED LEVEL YET
Importance on BPSI
INTEGRATED GROWTH
1. Do you agree with the following
statements?:
A. Products and goods of your economy
can compete well with products and
goods from other economies in the region (Albania, Bosnia and Herezegovina,
Kosovo*, The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia) B. Products and goods of your economy can
compete well with products and goods
from the EU.
C. Economy has benefited a lot from free
trade (which is carried out in the region
since 2006 within CEFTA).
IMPORTANT AND WELL
FULFILLED
31
26
30.0
Regional 21
cooperation
40.0
Inclusive
Growth
16
Sustainable
Growth
50.0
60.0
70.0
IMPORTANCE BELOW AVERAGE
BUT WELL FULFILLED
6
Integrated
Growth
1
Low
80.0
11
Smart
Growth
BELOW AVERAGE ON IMPORTANCE
AND ON INDEX VALUE
Low
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
INCLUSIVE GROWTH
1. How satisfied are you with health services
in your place of living?
2. How satisfied are you with social life in
your place of living?
3. How satisfied are you with your present
job?
4.Agreement with the statement: I feel that
there is a risk for me that I could fall into
poverty.
5.How confident would you say you are in
having a job in two years’ time?
High
Pillar Index value (0 – 100)
Figure 4: Pillar Importance vs. Pillar value (seven economies)
IMPORTANT, BUT NOT ON THE
REQUIRED LEVEL YET
IMPORTANT AND WELL FULFILLED
50.0
Governance
for Growth
0
5
15
16
60%
45.4
12
17
6
29.0
40%
20%
0%
24
42
SEE
1
10
23
16
28
33.8
1
17
48
Croatia
18
20
6
8
41
Kosovo*
2
10
43.6
29.7
40
1
12
7
10
16
13
19
19
13
12
43.6
14
43.1
32
6
40
40
Bosnia and The Former
Herzegovina Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Montenegro
Integrated Growth
Smart Growth
Sustainable Growth
Regional cooperation
Governance for Growth
BPSI
5
10
Albania
Governance
for Growth
35.0
Inclusive
Growth
Governance
for Growth
20
40.0
10
24
40.0
Governance
for Growth
Governance
for Growth
30.0 30.0
32
Serbia
30.0
Inclusive
Growth
Regional
cooperation
25.0
Sustainable Growth
Inclusive
Growth
Sustainable
Growth
Inclusive Growth
20.0
20.0
35
Governance
for Growth
50.0
Importance on BPSI
80%
1
9
45.0
Governance
for Growth
Inclusive 20.0
Growth
Smart Growth
Inclusive Growth
30.0
Inclusive
Growth
Smart
Growth
Regional
cooperation
Smart
Growth
Regional
cooperation
10.0
Sustainable Growth
Sustainable Growth
40.0
Sustainable
Sustainable
Growth
Growth
Smart Growth
Low
100%
High
Figure 2: Pillar’s impact on BPSI
10.0
5.0
Regional
cooperation
Low
Kosovo*
70.0
Integrated Growth
Integrated
Growth
Integrated
Growth
Integrated
Growth
Integrated
Growth
IMPORTANCE BELOW AVERAGE
BUT WELL FULFILLED
High
Pillar Index value (0 – 100)
Serbia
80.0
Integrated
Growth
Regional cooperation
Smart Growth
Integrated
Growth
0.0
BELOW AVERAGE ON IMPORTANCE
AND ON INDEX VALUE
Inclusive Growth
60.0
Regional cooperation
Regional
Sustainable Growth
cooperation
Smart Growth
Smart Growth
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
Montenegro
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Albania
Croatia
25
Of all the five pillars, including Regional
Cooperation, Governance for Growth has
the greatest impact on the total BPSI with
a share of 42% of impact at the level of
the entire SEE region. Although there are
differences in the impact of this pillar in
some economies, it is still dominant in all
economies, that is, it has the greatest impact on overall sentiment index. However, at
the same time this pillar shows the lowest
values (25.6 to 44.7) in comparison with all
other pillars, which implies that working
on increasing its value in all economies is
a priority. Given the structure of the variables that make up Governance for Growth,
priority may be given to working on public services, both on the quality, and the
prices, to combating corruption, working
to increase confidence in judiciary, and to
increase the awareness in population that
the law applies to all inhabitants equally.
Improving these parts of society will indirectly cause an increase in BPSI, that is, satisfaction of the population in the SEE region.
The lowest value of the pillar Governance
for Growth has been present in Bosnia and
Herzegovina (25.6) where the satisfaction
with public services among persons is the
lowest, they have the lowest confidence in
the courts and the judiciary, and only 15%
of the population share the opinion that the
law applies equally to everybody. On the
other hand, the value of this pillar is the
highest in The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia (44.7).
Looking at the impact of other pillars in the
SEE region, it could be concluded that the
following three pillars have almost an equal
impact on total satisfaction of the inhabitants of this region: Regional Cooperation,
Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Growth. Of
26
and utility services in order to increase
overall satisfaction.
these, Inclusive Growth has the lowest value. Inclusive Growth is the very pillar which
shows the greatest variation of impact on
BPSI in certain economies: from 10% in
Serbia, to 32% in Albania. Of all the variables
that make up the Inclusive Growth, job-related variables have by far the greatest impact on satisfaction : satisfaction with current job, and the risk of poverty. In Albania
and Croatia, where there is the greatest
impact of Inclusive Growth on the overall
index (Albania - 32%; Croatia - 28%), solving
the problem of unemployment, the risk of
poverty, and to a lesser extent improving
the health system and social life can have
an impact on about one-third of the total
satisfaction of the population.
Regional Cooperation and Sustainable
Growth are two pillars with almost equal influence on BPSI and similar values. Regional
Cooperation is the most important in Serbia
(a 24% impact on BPSI), and the least important in Croatia, Kosovo* and Albania (6%
each). However, although this is the most
important pillar in Serbia, yet its resulting
value (39.2) is among the lowest in comparison to the rest of the region. Albania is the
opposite where the influence is low (6%), but
as much as 65% of the population believes
relations in the SEE region are better if
compared to what they were 12 months ago.
Sustainable Growth, that is, the satisfaction
with the quality of transport infrastructure
and utility services has the strongest influence on BPSI in Bosnia and Herzegovina
(23%) and Serbia (20%). Although the influence is the greatest in these two economies,
the value of the pillars is the lowest (Serbia
- 38.1, Bosnia and Herzegovina - 41.6) which
requires the greatest commitment in these
two very economies in terms of transport
Smart Growth, whose foundation in the
analysis comes down to satisfaction with
the quality of education, is the main contributor to the total satisfaction in Kosovo*
(17%) and contributes the least in Croatia
(5%). In other economies its impact amounts
to 10%. While in Croatia educational system
has the least impact on overall satisfaction,
the greatest impact is achieved because the
value of the pillar is the highest (56.7).
The pillar with the least impact on overall
satisfaction (1% at the level of SEE), but
with the largest values (67.4 on average)
is Integrated Growth which involves the
relation between domestic products and
the products of the region or the EU, as
well as the benefits of CEFTA. It is obvious
that domestic products are perceived as
high-quality as well as those who are able
to compete with products from the region
or the EU. However, this has no impact on
the satisfaction of inhabitants in the region.
In order to increase the value of the BPSI
in the following period, especially in Serbia,
Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina where
it is the lowest, firstly it is necessary to improve the aspects that relate to public services, judiciary, and corruption. In addition,
in Croatia it is necessary to increase employment and reduce poverty risk, while in
Bosnia and Herzegovina the next priority
is transportation infrastructure and utility
services, and in Serbia relations in the region together with the said transport and
utility services.
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Contribution of the Pillars
27
Figure 6: What do you think are the two most important problems facing your economy?
Figure 5: How are you satisfied with the way things are going in your economy?
70
100%
80%
60%
3
23
37
2.8
40%
20%
0%
2
4
19
29
2.6
24
27
11
23
The Former Montenegro
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
2
17
7
23
1
9
17
28
29
2.4
24
Albania
1
10
17
20
35
2.1
1
6
18
34
37
Serbia
Croatia
23
50
1.9
1.8
Kosovo*
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
60
64
63
58
4.0
3.0
2.0
35
DK/refuse
I’m completely satisfied
I’m mostly satisfied
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
I’m mostly dissatisfied
I’m completely dissatisfied
67
65
64
59
58
56
50
2.1
SEE
66
63
55
58
48
45
40
30
31
52
5.0
25
36
2.0
1
10
65
20
16
15 1215
10
4
24
22
19
27
22
21
16
14
9
2
5
16
6 7
4
22
13 13
10
4
23
21
19
15
6
15
12
3
78
19
17
15
12
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
LIFE SATISFACTION AND ASSESMENT OF GENERAL TRENDS
3
0
Croatia
Serbia
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
1.0
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Kosovo*
Albania
Montenegro
SEE
Unemployment
Economic situation
Crime
Rising prices
corruption
Political instability
Protection of human rights
State of public finances
Climate change
Security issues/terrorism
Mean
Satisfaction with the way things are going
in the region is below the average which is
3.0 (see Figure 5). 66% people in the whole
region are dissatisfied and only 11% are
satisfied.
The most satisfied with the way things are
going are people from The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (mean is 2.8 in comparison with SEE mean of 2,1). This result is
significantly different from all other economies except Montenegro.
28
The highest dissatisfaction is among people
from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo*.
Among them are even a half who are completely dissatisfied with the way things
are going (Bosnia and Herzegovina mean
is 1.8, Kosovo* mean is 1.9). In Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Serbia there are only
7% of people who are satisfied (completely or mostly). The result in Bosnia and
Herzegovina is significantly different from
all other economies except Kosovo*.
The main problems in the SEE region are
unemployment and economic situation (see
Figure 6). The economic situation, as the
main problem, is specified in the lowest percentage in The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia and Montenegro.
In The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia people consider rising prices and
political instability to be more important
problems than in other economies. On the
other hand, corruption is for them a less
important problem (6%, SEE – 15%).
The largest number of people recognized
crime as problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina
(24%) and in Montenegro (23%), while corruption is mentioned the most often as the
problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina (22%)
and Kosovo* (22%).
Issues and the policy agenda
Even if unemployment and economic difficulties are at the top of problems that region faces the latter, in any case, did not
play a key role in the past elections. This is
probably the key political and policy paradox in the region. This is changing and thus
the state of the labour market is expected
to play a much larger role in future elections.
By contrast, the public does not perceive
the state of public finances as such an important problem, while this dominates the
policy agenda in almost all the economies.
This disconnect is similar to the one regarding the lack of political importance of low
employment and high unemployment.
Strangely enough, inflation is seen as an
relatively important problem, though it has
been contained in most economies for some
time now. Serbia was an exception, while the
rate of price increases has been very low or
even negative throughout the region, including Serbia in the last year. That is probably due to falling wages and other incomes.
The distribution of opinions on other issues
shown in Figure 6 is consistent with what
are taken to be the main challenges that
the region face. Stability is clearly more of
a problem in The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina,
and also in Kosovo*. It features in Croatia
too, though probably due to the dissatisfaction with the main parties rather than
for security reasons.
High concern with crime also reflects the
inefficiencies of the rule of law and a more
general concern with the existing justice.
Again, this is a persistent worry, as it comes
out in most surveys.
29
Figure 8: How are you satisfied with the general economic situation?
100%
Figure 7: How are you satisfied with the financial situation of your household?
100%
2
27
1
6
30
3
30
40%
20%
0%
2.9
23
10
23
2.9
31
2.8
24
19
16
16
The Former Montenegro
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
24
2
22
3
20
1
15
2
5.0
21
40%
Kosovo*
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
28
2.6
22
22
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
27
28
2.6
2.6
30
19
Albania
DK/refuse
I’m completely satisfied
I’m mostly unsatisfied
If we take into consideration a scale from 1
to 5, which respondents used to estimate
satisfaction with their financial situation and
observed results for the whole region (2,6),
we can conclude that satisfaction is below
the average (3.0). On the region level the
most people are dissatisfied (46%). Almost
one third of them are neither satisfied nor
dissatisfied and only 23% are satisfied (see
Figure 7).
In general, people in the SEE region are
more satisfied with the financial situation
of their households (SEE mean is 2,6) than
with the way things are going in their places of living (SEE mean is 2,1). People from
Serbia have significantly lower satisfaction
with financial situation in their households
in comparison with the rest of the region
(52% people are dissatisfied).
29
20
Croatia
32
28
2.4
24
Serbia
33
2.5
3.0
2.0
20
1.0
I’m mostly satisfied
I’m completely dissatisfied
Mean
The less dissatisfied with financial situation in their household are people from
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
(they are significantly more satisfied than
people in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Albania).
In comparison with all measured satisfaction, the lowest satisfaction is observed
for the economic situation in certain cases (SEE mean is 1.9) (see Figure 8). The
lowest satisfaction was measured in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo*.
Approximately half of population is completely dissatisfied with the economic situation and more than 80% of people who
are dissatisfied.
People from The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia (mean is 2.5) are significantly
3
12
4
12
13
23
41
5.0
5
17
4.0
28
37
36
3.0
38
2.3
2.2
27
14
0%
26
SEE
16
25
25
37
1
7
3
The Former Montenegro
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
56
1.8
55
28
39
1.7
1.7
Albania
Serbia
Kosovo*
Croatia
47
20%
30
2.6
1
8
2
2
12
33
4.0
60%
38
3
1
14
80%
60%
80%
30
on whether bad economic performance is
connected with it. In prolonged recessions
or stagnations, blaming corruption for bad
welfare deterioration is almost inevitable.
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
1.9
1.6
2.0
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Finally, the concern with corruption is also
not unexpected given what is known about
it from various reports and other sources.
How much of a policy force it is depends
41
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
SEE
DK/refuse
I’m mostly satisfied
I’m completely satisfied
I’m completely dissatisfied
I’m mostly unsatisfied
Mean
1.0
more satisfied with their economic situa- their own finances. Namely, approximately
tion than other people in the region except the same percent of the SEE population
expect better situation for their financial
Montenegro.
situation (20%) and for the national econoIf we compare expectations for the own fi- my (18%), but a larger number expect worse
nancial situation and expectations for the situation when it comes to national econonational economy, we can see that great- my (46%) than to own finances (32%). The
er optimism is present when it comes to highest difference between these two issues
Figure 9: What are your expectations for the next year? Do you think that in 12 months
your financial situation will be:
20
SEE
45
32
36
53
Kosovo*
38
37
Albania
31
Montenegro
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
24
49
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
17
Serbia
14
46
Croatia
13
49
28
44
20%
40%
better
1
worse
36
36
37
60%
80%
the same
DK/refuse
26
43
18
0%
10
3
2
4
3
5
2
100%
31
challenging economic conditions that triggered recent migrations from Kosovo*.
Figure 11: Did your household face the following problems (even at least once) during
the past 12 months? (Results for SEE)
People from Kosovo* are greater optimists
- more than a half of population (53%) expect better financial situation in the next
12 months and only 10% expect worse situation (see Figure 9). Until very recently,
people of Kosovo* have been more concerned with political developments rather
than economic ones, which created a sense
of success that might well explain this optimism. However, this is in contrast with the
Besides people from Kosovo*, in Albania and
Montenegro there are also more people who
believe in better future than those who believe in worsening financial situation.
Unable to afford at least one
week of holiday away from
home (if wanted to)
Among Croatians there is the lowest number of people who are optimistic about their
future: only 13% of them expect better situation for the next year, but 37% expect
worse financial situation.
Unable to afford food, clothes
and other basic supplies
21
78
1
Unable to keep home
adequately warm
21
78
1
Figure 10. What are your expectations for the national economy? Do you think that in
12 months the state of the economy will be:
SEE
18
34
46
3
better
3
worse
the same
50
Kosovo*
36
39
Albania
33
25
Montenegro
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
43
13
Serbia
11
Croatia
9
0%
35
35
51
34
30
20%
In Croatia there are even 59% of people
who expect worse national economy in the
60%
3
4
59
40%
2
2
51
When it comes to future national economy,
we have the same range of economies as for
own financial situations: greater optimists
are people from Kosovo* (50% expect better national economy, 11% worse), the lowest level of optimism is among the Croatian
people (see Figure 10).
32
32
2
80%
Unable to pay rent or utility
bills
Unable to pay instalment
on a loan
20%
40%
Among the five examined problems/obstacles, the highest number of people in the
SEE was unable to afford at least one week
of holiday away from home – 53%. (see
Figure 11).
60%
yes
no
DK/ refuse
3
79
18
0%
1
71
28
2
80%
100%
From 18% to 28% people from SEE region
were faced with the additional four problems: 28% were unable to pay utility bills in
the past 12 months, while 18 % were unable
to pay instalments for the loan.
DK/refuse
28
40
19
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
11
45
53
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
is noticeable in Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia
and Herzegovina (see Figures 9 and 10).
100%
next year and only 9% believe that national
economy will be better.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia a
half of the population expect worse national economy in the future while in The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and
Montenegro the highest number of people
do not expect any changes.
Personal and general welfare
The assessment of the personal financial
situation and the expectations for its development is better than for the economy as a
whole (see Figures 7 and 8). This misalignment is probably a reflection of the general
dissatisfaction with the policies pursued by
the governments.
There is more optimism in Kosovo*, Albania,
Montenegro, and The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, which is consistent
with the developments since the start of
the global economic crisis and also with the
forecasts for growth in the short and medium term. These economies are expected
to have growth rates of around 3 percent
in the medium term, compared to close to
1 percent for most other economies. If anything, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia is more pessimistic than the statistical reports on growth and employment
would suggest.
There is a large disconnect between the assessment of personal welfare and that of
the economy in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Kosovo*, and Croatia, while in Serbia there
is more of an alignment. This is in accordance with the fact that wages and incomes
are increasing, except in Croatia and Serbia,
while the economies suffer from many deficiencies. In the case of Serbia, employment
and income prospects have been deteriorating and will continue to do so together
with the prolonged recession.
Overall prospects are seen as quite pessimistic, which is in accordance with the fact
33
better – The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, Kosovo*, Albania, and Montenegro
– and those that have done worse – Serbia,
Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Figure 11(a): Did your household, even once in the past 12 months, face problems in affording at least one week of holiday away from home (if wanted to)?
SEE
53
45
2
yes
no
66
Albania
34
DK/ refuse
The biggest problems with utility or rent bill
payments had people from Kosovo* - 44%
of them were unable to pay them during the
past 12 months, followed by Montenegro
where 39% were unable to pay rent or utility bills.
Figure 11(c): . Did your household, even once in the past 12 months, face problems in keeping home adequately warm?
SEE
78
21
1
62
38
DK/ refuse
55
44
1
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
21
77
2
Croatia
54
45
1
Serbia
21
78
2
Montenegro
53
43
4
Croatia
81
1
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
52
44
4
Montenegro
16
81
4
Kosovo*
16
83
1
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
15
84
1
Kosovo*
46
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
45
20%
50
54
40%
In five (from seven) economies a half of population were unable to afford at least one
week of holiday away from home. The lowest
number of people who were able to pay one
60%
1
80%
100%
19
0%
week of holiday is from Albania (34%), while
in Bosnia and Herzegovina this percentage
is the highest (54%) (see Figure 11a).
SEE
28
71
1
yes
no
Kosovo*
44
Montenegro
53
39
58
Serbia
31
68
Albania
30
70
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
27
70
Croatia
26
74
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
17
0%
3
3
1
3
82
20%
40%
60%
DK/ refuse
20%
40%
60%
3
80%
100%
Figure 11(d): . Did your household, even once in the past 12 months, face problems in affording food, clothes and other basic supplies?
SEE
Figure 11(b): Did your household, even once in the past 12 months, face problems in paying rent or utility bills?
yes
no
Albania
Serbia
0%
34
In Serbia and Albania approximately one
third of population had difficulties with
rent or utility payments, while in Bosnia and
Herzegovina there is the lowest number of
people who could not pay bills – 17% (see
Figure 11b).
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
that most of the region seems stuck in stagnation and even recession. There is, however,
a consistent differentiation between economies that have been doing comparatively
18
Montenegro
23
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
22
Croatia
20
Kosovo*
20
79
74
Albania
no
DK/ refuse
2
75
5
79
4
85
13
0%
yes
9
78
15
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
3
69
17
Serbia
3
85
20%
40%
2
60%
80%
100%
1
80%
100%
35
Other economies have approximately the
same number of people who were unable
to keep homes adequately warm: from
21% in The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia and Serbia to 15% in Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
From 20% to 23% people from The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Montenegro, Croatia and Kosovo* were unable to afford basic supplies such as food and
clothes. The lowest problem with basic supplies had people in Bosnia and Herzegovina
(13%), in Albania (15%) and in Serbia (17%)
(see Figure 11d).
Figure 12: Did your household receive help, at least once in the past 12 months, in the
form of money or goods from another individual living abroad?
SEE
Kosovo*
18
Montenegro
23
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
22
Croatia
20
Kosovo*
20
79
74
Albania
75
5
79
4
85
20%
40%
2
60%
no
DK/ refuse
39
55
80%
100%
5
2
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
14
85
1
Albania
14
86
Montenegro
13
85
Serbia
8
91
Croatia
7
93
0%
20%
40%
Results show that people from Kosovo* received significantly more help (in the form
of money or goods from another individual living abroad) in comparison with other
economies – 39% of the population (see
Figure 12).
no
2
1
60%
80%
100%
From 13% to 16% people from Montenegro,
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia also
received help in the past 12 months.
The lowest number of people who received
help from individuals living abroad is from
Croatia – 7% and Serbia – 8%.
Figure 13: How satisfied are you with each of the following in your place of living:
(1-5 scale; mean)
3.6
Croatia
3.4
Serbia
3.2
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
Kosovo*
3.0
2.8
2.9
2.9
2.9
2.9
2.7
2.6
2.7
2.7
Albania
2.5
2.4
2.5
Safety from crime
Present job
Public services
in general
In general with
quality of transport
infrastructure
Health services
Utility services
Quality of schools/
education system
Cleanliness of my
city/town/village
Social life
2.0
Montenegro
SEE
2.2
36
yes
DK/ refuse
82
2
85
13
0%
9
78
15
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
3
69
17
Serbia
3
1
16
Figure 11 (e): Did your household, even once in the past 12 months, face problems in payin instalment on a loan?
SEE
87
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
On average, 18% of people had problems
with loan payment. People from Montenegro,
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Croatia and Kosovo* face relatively higher
problems in paying instalment on a loan (see
Figure 11e).
yes
13
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Besides impossibility to afford one week
of holidays, people of Albania also has the
biggest problem with keeping homes adequately warm - 38% of Albanian population
were unable to have warm homes during the
past 12 months (see Figure 11c).
37
If we compare seven economies and their
levels of satisfaction with nine different topics from Figure 13, we can see that Croatian
people are the most satisfied with all issues except present jobs – with which are
the most satisfied people from The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
People from Kosovo* and Serbia have the
lowest level of satisfaction with social life
and health services. People from Albania
have the lowest level of satisfaction with
cleanliness of their cities.
With education system the lowest satisfaction is among people from Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Serbia and Albania, with utility services among people from Serbia and
Albania. Serbians have also the lowest level of satisfaction with quality of transport
and public services. People from Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Kosovo* are the least satisfied with present jobs and with safety of
crime, together with Serbia.
No satisfaction
The least satisfying factor is the present job,
and crime is the main risk (see Figure 13).
Dissatisfaction with the current job is in line
with the data that suggests that the level
of education is higher than the produced
GDP. In other words, on average, people are
potentially more productive than they are in
their place of work. This means that there
is a major misallocation of labour resources
due to declining production and the change
of its structure – low skilled services taking
over from manufacturing.
The high concern with crime, already mentioned before, is probably due to the dissatisfaction with the rule of law rather than
with the overall level of criminal activities,
though those may have been increasing.
Also, the high level of corruption probably
influences the evaluation of the risk of criminal activities.
A relatively higher satisfaction with social
life and with public services is not to be
exaggerated as those are still mostly below
average. Also, job dissatisfaction, which also,
most probably, includes treatment on the
workplace, makes social and public relations
relatively more satisfying by comparison.
Intra-regional variations are not terribly
large, and in the case of the overall higher
level in Croatia, that probably just reflects
its much higher GDP per capita. That, in
fact, makes the satisfaction level in this
economy look even worse.
Personal welfare and the state of the economy
This group of questions (see Figures 11
and 12) gives consistent results with what
is otherwise known about poverty in the
region and in the individual economies.
Somewhat surprising is 18% at the SEE
level of those who report problems with
meeting their credit obligations, given that
households do not have much debt, except
in Croatia, and the banks report much lower numbers for nonperforming loans in
the case of households. There could possibly be some share of out-of-banks loans
which may be more of a problem, but it is
not known how prevalent those are.
When it comes to electricity and other utility bills, it is hard to distinguish between
the ability to pay and the willingness to pay.
There is widespread default on these bills
and also stealing. There are also shortages and power cuts, which probably account
for the high number of those that cannot
ensure adequate heating.
The somewhat low numbers regarding help
from abroad, except in the case of Kosovo*,
and also Croatia, is not in accordance with
the statistics on the inflow of remittances.
In particular, the dependence on them in
Serbia should be higher. It may be that not
all remittances are considered as help.
Figure 14: Would you consider living and working abroad?
45
SEE
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
52
58
Kosovo*
3
41
49
2
50
45
50
Montenegro
43
53
3
56
2
42
Albania
38
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
20%
no
DK/ refuse
5
62
35
0%
yes
2
Serbia
Croatia
38
The high numbers in all these questions in
Croatia, except in the one about outside
help, is more difficult to explain. In terms
of GDP per capita or net wages, and also
purchasing power parity terms, Croatia is
much richer than the rest. So, there is probably a problem in comparability, e.g. in what
is considered an adequate diet or clothing or
a minimum utility fee in general. The more
severe problems with loans are understandable, however, because Croatian households
hold significant debts.
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Results for the entire region show that people in this region are the most satisfied with
social life, cleanliness of their cities, quality
of education system and with utility services (mean is 2.9). The lowest satisfaction
is with safety from crime and present job
(mean is 2.5) (see Figure 13).
59
40%
60%
6
80%
100%
39
Figure 15: Overall, do you think you receive sufficient information about developments
in other parts in the SEE region?
SEE
9
Croatia
62
12
24
63
6
21
4
Montenegro
10
68
16
5
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
9
71
15
5
Kosovo*
8
57
28
7
Serbia
8
58
25
8
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
6
61
6
26
59
0%
20%
34
40%
Approximately two thirds of the population
of the SEE region find that they receive
enough information (as much as they need)
about developments in other parts of the
region. 24% need more information (see
Figure 15).
60%
80%
Too much
information
(More than I
need)
Enough
information
(as much as
I need)
Not enough
information
(less than I
need)
6
DK/refuse
1
Figure 16: Did you travel somewhere in the region in the past 12 months?
63
Kosovo*
45
52
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Croatia
5
1
80
20
0%
2
71
28
Albania
1
64
31
20%
40%
60%
45
38
40
31
35
30
25
23
yes
no
DK/ refuse
0
20
17
20
12
8
11
Croatia
19
1
5
Serbia
14
12
2
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Albania
4
8 7
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
13
12
5
Kosovo*
1
11
7
5 6
Albania
1
15
11
8
43
Montenegro
Croatia
Serbia
Kosovo*
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Montenegro
If we take into consideration the whole SEE
region, the most people were travelling
to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro,
Croatia and Serbia (see Figure 17).
People from Kosovo* and Montenegro, who
travelled most frequently, usually travelled
to the nearby economies: 46% of those from
Kosovo* who travelled were in Albania and
11
11
9
8
4
23
SEE
38% of the Montenegro population were
in Serbia.
Croatian people were travelling the most
often to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbs to
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro
and people from Bosnia and Herzegovina
to Croatia.
3
65
33
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
1
50
49
Serbia
40
45
54
Montenegro
1
46
50
5
Among the people from Bosnia and
Herzegovina there are the most of those
who have enough information about developments in region, while among Croatians
there is the highest number of people who
find that they receive too much information
(more than they need) – 12%.
36
Figure 17: Did you travel somewhere in the region in the past 12 months and if yes,
where? (those who did travel in the region in the past 12 months)
10
100%
in the region – 54%/52%, while only 20%
of the Albanian population travelled in the
past year somewhere in the region.
In Kosovo* and Montenegro the highest
percentage of people travelled somewhere
15
The highest number of those who need more
information about developments in other
parts of the region is from Albania (34%).
SEE
In the past 12 months only one third of the
SEE population travelled somewhere in the
region (see Figure 16).
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
ATTITUDES ON EU INTEGRATION AND REGIONAL COOPERATION
0
80%
100%
Migration and Mobility
The high interest in emigration is consistent
with the fact that this is a migrant region.
Traditionally, the relevant labour market is
the world rather than the domestic and the
regional one.
It is somewhat surprising that the number of people considering emigration is
rather high in Croatia (see Figure 14). The
statistical data does show increased outward migration in the last few years due to
prolonged recession in this economy. The
41
Intra-regional migrations are more a type of
mobility. The flows follow ethnic lines and inherited routes, e.g. between Montenegro and
Serbia, and between Bosnia and Herzegovina
and both Croatia and Serbia. Growing mobility between Kosovo* and Albania is to be
expected, but it is new (see Figure 17).
In SEE, Albania is least integrated within
the region. This is visible in the data on mobility and migration, but also in the overall
acquaintance with regional developments.
This will also be apparent from the trade
later on.
Figure 18: What do you think are the most important problems facing the entire SEE
region at the moment?
SEE
Montenegro
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
42
Albania
42
Croatia
40
Serbia
39
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
34
Kosovo*
36
0%
20%
9
29
8
24
19
7
44
40%
60%
3
6
3 4
2
6
12
4
32
7
2 4 12 2 4
15
24
Economic issues
Political disputes
3 5 3
17
10
44
4 4 3 3 2
4
9
26
40
2 5
3 22 4
4
4 3 5 1
5
8
11
6
80%
6
3 5 11 3
Organized crime
Border issues
comes to border issues (12%) and between
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
and others when it comes to problems with
minorities (11%).
People from Montenegro and Bosnia and
Herzegovina perceive organized crime as
more important problem in the region than
others do.
Economy and animosity
The dissatisfaction with the economy is
more or less the same across the region,
even if some economies have been doing
better than the others (the former include The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo*, while in
the latter we find Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia
and Herzegovina; Montenegro is a bit in
between).
problems with the border are mostly important in Albania where probably refer to
Greece, not to others in the region.
Problems with minorities feature more in
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
than in other parts of the region probably
because of the understanding regarding
which ethnic group is to be considered a
minority. Minorities themselves consider
that they have problems with the majorities,
which is possibly subsumed under political
disputes (see Figure 18).
Political disputes are still important throughout the region, and then there is organised crime, probably cross-border to a not
small extent. Possibly because political disputes cover also the internal borders issue,
Brain drain/
emigration
Problems with
minorities
Climate change
(floods, droughts,
etc.)
Security/terrorism
issues
Other
100%
Figure 19: Do you agree that the relations in SEE are better than 12 months ago?
(1-4 scale)
100%
8
90%
9
10
7
6
8
6
11
2
8
5
13
2
10
4
80%
For the highest number of people (40%)
economic issues are the most important
problem in the SEE region. The second most
important problem are political disputes
(see Figure 18). Economic problems are
seen as more pressing within the national
economy (see Figure 6) than within the region, but these two sets of answers cannot
be compared directly because they differ.
In addition, the perception of the importance of economic problems in the regional
42
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
leading position of Bosnia and Herzegovina
is not a surprise, while this cannot be said
for the position of The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia at the bottom of the
list. In general, these numbers are consistent with the economic trends and the tradition of outward migration.
setting is influenced by the regional political
problems, which are still seen as substantial.
That is why in the regional setting economic
problems are seen as less pressing, though
they are still the most significant ones, than
in the local setting.
The significant differences are noticeable
between Kosovo* and the rest of the region
when it comes to political disputes (44%),
between Albania and all others when it
70%
60%
57
47
46
43
35
31
36
Tend to
disagree
Totally
disagree
40%
32
35
30%
29
10%
0%
Totally agree
Tend to agree
28
50%
20%
DK/refuse
6
Albania
26
27
12
10
Montenegro Kosovo*
40
35
37
6
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
16
Croatia
24
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
17
15
Serbia
SEE
43
than before, while in other parts of the region (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Serbia) we have more of those who do not
agree with the mentioned statement.
Among people from Albania there is the
highest number of those who think that
relations are better now – 65%, while in
Serbia we have the lowest number – 30%.
In four economies (Albania, Montenegro,
Kosovo* and The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia) there is a bigger share of
those who perceive present situation better
In four economies (Albania, Montenegro,
Kosovo* and The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia) there is a bigger share of
those who perceive present situation better
than before, while in other parts of the region (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Serbia) we have more of those who do not
agree with the mentioned statement.
Figure 20: Do you agree that regional cooperation can contribute to the political, economic
or security situation of your place of living? (1-4 scale)
100%
2
6
4
90%
80%
33
38
32
5
5
19
17
8
5
16
24
35
Totally agree
Tend to agree
70%
Tend to
disagree
60%
50%
40%
DK/refuse
54
58
55
47
52
10
3
8
3
53
42
52
Totally
disagree
30%
20%
10%
0%
10
2
Albania
11
12
21
17
8
7
4
6
6
Croatia
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Serbia
SEE
Kosovo* Montenegro Bosnia and
Herzegovina
The positive fact is that majority (76%) of
SEE region population think that regional
cooperation can contribute to a better situation in own place of living (see Figure 20).
14
highest number of people who do not agree
with the fact that regional cooperation can
contribute to better situation is from Serbia
(23%) and The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia (25%).
Figure 21: Do you think that EU membership would be (is – for Croatia) a good thing, a
bad thing, or neither good nor bad?
SEE
20
37
40
8
89
Kosovo*
11
84
Albania
3
good thing
21
Neither good
nor bad
4
Bad thing
DK/refuse
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
Montenegro
Croatia
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
27
44
24
0%
26
41
30
Serbia
20
47
32
20%
40%
If we are observing on the SEE level, we can
see that approximately the same number
of people think that membership in EU is
a good thing (40%) or have a neutral opinion (37%). The smallest number perceives
EU membership (20%) as a bad thing (see
Figure 21).
6
23
37
35
60%
2
15
42
41
80%
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
40% of the SEE population think that relations within SEE are better now than 12
months ago, while a half have the opposite
opinion (see Figure 19).
1
3
5
100%
Among Serbs there is the smallest number
of those who think that EU membership is a
good thing – only 24%, while 27% perceive
EU membership as a bad thing. This is the
only place where more people perceive EU
membership as a bad thing rather than a
good thing.
But, besides general results, we can recognize big differences between certain economies regarding their opinion about EU
membership.
People from Kosovo* and Albania differ
the most from others because more than
80% of them think that EU membership is
a good thing.
In Montenegro we have only 11% of those
who do not agree with this statement. The
44
45
Figure 23: In general, when do you expect the accession to EU to happen?
70
100%
62
61
60
90%
70%
43
37
10
0
21
19
16
25
15
9108
4 4
Croatia
Serbia
24
23 21
30
25
13
6
35 36
36
31
30
20
12
41
39
35
30
29
30
20
13
80%
50
40
5
28
15
12
9
8
3
2
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
6
22
Kosovo*
3 1
Albania
17
12
78
Montenegro
21
17
10
8
20%
5
SEE
Economic prosperity
Freedom to study and/or work in EU
Nothing good/positive
Social protection
Loss of sovereignty
DK/refuse
That membership in EU will bring peace and
stability and social protection most often
think people from Albania.
People from Serbia in the highest percentage see EU membership as nothing good/
positive – 25%.
Croatians who already have EU membership
most often perceive it as freedom to travel or to study and work in EU, rather than
economic prosperity.
8
17
20
25
38
14
Kosovo*
33
by 2020
21
24
Montenegro The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
by 2030
16
12
51
37
27
by 2025
17
22
DK/refuse
never
24
Albania
11
33
12
10%
0%
9
23
30%
Peace and stability
Among people from Kosovo* dominates
freedom to travel (62%) as the meaning of
EU membership, while in Albania dominates
economic prosperity (61%). In other parts
of the region a few different meanings have
a very similar percentage.
31
40%
Freedom to travel
Freedom to travel, economic prosperity and
freedom to study and work in EU are three
most often mentioned EU membership
meanings (see Figure 22). However, we can
also notice big differences across the region
about this issue.
23
50%
29
26 23
23
23
10
13
60%
35
33
36
8
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 22: What would EU membership mean to you personally? (Max. two answers)
17
19
21
19
Serbia
Bosnia and Croatia
Herzegovina
27
SEE
Although on the SEE level there is not a
big difference in people’s expectation about
accession to the EU, at the national level
there is (see Figure 23).
In the SEE region we have 35% of people
who did not visit any cities in the region,
27% feel welcome in all cities and 28% only
in some of them (see Figure 24).
The greater optimists are people from
Albania where a half of them expect Albania
will become an EU member by 2020, and
31% by 2025. Only 5% think that they will
never become an EU member. In Kosovo* is
the similar situation, but with more people
who do not believe in EU membership (13%).
In Bosnia and Herzegovina almost 38% of
people believe that Bosnia and Herzegovina
will never become a member of EU and only
19% believe in membership by 2020.
The most people who did not visit any other part of the SEE region are from Albania
(64%), followed by Croatia (45%).
Among people from Montenegro and Bosnia
and Herzegovina there are the most who
feel welcome in all other parts of the region
(44%/41%), while in Serbia there is the lowest number of them (17%).
Freedom to travel is mentioned in the lowest percentage in Montenegro, and economic prosperity in Croatia.
46
47
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Yes, I feel welcome in all of the cities in the region
No, I don’t feel welcome in any of the cities in region
DK/refuse
1
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
I feel welcome in some of the cities,
and unwelcome in others
I did not visit other cities in the region
Enthusiasm and scepticism
The region is divided between those that
could be considered enthusiastic about regional and EU integration and those that
are more sceptical. The former include,
for the most part, Albania and Kosovo*,
while in the latter we have Croatia, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, and Serbia; The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and
Montenegro are somewhere in between
(see Figure 21).
This is in contrast with the generally positive
attitude towards intra-regional cooperation,
though again the same division is visible.
Clearly, the more sceptical ones see that
there are still some risks emanating from
within the region (see Figure 20).
48
The answers to these two questions could
also be considered to reflect the preference
for the rule of law, i.e. for justice as a public good, which is also associated with the
integration into the EU. But it is hard to
differentiate from these answers the contributions of these two public goods – security
and justice – in the appeal of the EU.
6
35
7
34
17
Serbia
7
64
3
14
19
Albania
5
3
28
6
32
28
14
4
45
3
15
33
Croatia
4
41
36
Kosovo*
18
6
31
41
5
20
6
26
44
Montenegro
5
35
5
28
27
SEE
Security – peace and stability and social
protection – are the second most valued
public goods, especially in economies that
are facing larger problems in these areas
(see Figure 22).
Scepticism is expressed in the answers to
the questions regarding the loss of sovereignty and the general assessment that EU
integration brings nothing good or positive.
This could be understood as expressing worries that changes will have to be made, e.g. in
Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia,
changes that are not desired, and that political legitimacy may be compromised (the
issue of sovereignty). Interestingly enough,
the latter complaint is not very prominent
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Scepticism is also reflected in the general
view that EU integration is far off, as far
off as ever, e.g. in Serbia and Bosnia and
Herzegovina, while unrealistic enthusiasm is
to be found in Albania and Kosovo*. Clearly,
the latter economies see the EU as help
in dealing with domestic and international problems, while others, e.g. The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, perceives
the EU more as a hindrance due to its name
dispute with Greece, an EU member.
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 24: Do you feel welcome abroad, when you are traveling to other
cities in SEE region either for business or leisure purposes?
Finally, the concerns with security and hospitality within the region varies mostly with
the geography of animosity and with the direction of intra-regional mobility. As already
noted, Albanians do not travel to the region
all that much and feel less comfortable in it
than the others (see Figure 24).
Enthusiasm and scepticism towards EU
in­tegration is similarly distributed. As for
the future benefits of the EU membership,
Croatia is more sceptical than for example
Kosovo* or Albania. Apart from these two
economies, all others are more doubtful and
arguably somewhat sceptical about the contribution that integration into the EU has
had on the wellbeing of Croatia.
What public and personal goods is the EU
expected to supply? Mobility, which also
means access to the labour market, features
prominently and, together with prosperity and access to education, suggests that
welfare is what is believed to be the biggest
contribution of EU membership.
49
Figure 26: Do you agree that entering of foreign companies in general in your market will improve the situation for your consumers? (1-4 scale)
Figure 25: How would you describe trade and commerce links with SEE region?
100%
90%
100%
90%
3
20
7
6
9
80%
3
3
19
8
15
9
4
7
26
70%
11
25
60%
30
7
10
7
6
37
24
They’re already
too strong
Just about
right
Should be
improved
50%
40%
DK/refuse
77
30%
77
60
30
80%
55
50
61
49
Croatia
Serbia
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
9
19
10
4
11
7
7
5
8
10
13
50%
43
28
14
5
7
Albania
Kosovo*
SEE
Totally agree
44
Tend to
disagree
Totally
disagree
24
30%
16
31
49
45
40%
10%
45
48
58
DK/refuse
Tend to agree
60%
10%
Bosnia and Kosovo* Montenegro
Herzegovina
5
70%
0%
Albania
21
20%
75
20%
0%
3
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
INTEGRATED GROWTH – TRADE AND INVESTMENT INTEGRATION
21
6
27
23
24
28
11
The Former Montenegro
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
15
13
Croatia
Serbia
14
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
SEE
Figure 27 (a): Products and goods of my economy can compete well with products and
goods from other SEE economies (Agreement level; 1-4 scale)
Approximately two thirds of people in the
SEE region think that their trade and commerce links with the region should be improved, 24% think that connection is just
about right and 6% think that links are already too strong (see Figure 25).
The highest percentage of people who think
that links should be improved are from
Albania (77%), Bosnia and Herzegovina
(77%) and Kosovo*(75%), and the lowest
number of people share this opinion in The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
(49%) and Serbia (50%). Among them there
is the highest number of those who perceive
present links as just about right.
More than a half of the SEE population
(57%) agree with the fact that foreign companies will improve the situation in their
own economies, while 38% do not agree
with that statement (see Figure 26).
In Albania (79%) and Kosovo* (75%) there is
the most of those who believe in consumer
prosperity brought by entering of foreign
companies in their economies.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only place
where more people do not agree with this
statement (52%) than believe (41%) in prosperity with foreign companies.
100%
1
3
3
3
3
2
90%
35
80%
70%
60%
66
33
46
52
29
41
50%
48
48
36
30%
39
27
5
1
Croatia
Tend to
disagree
Totally
disagree
37
36
10%
0%
Tend to agree
49
40
40%
20%
DK/refuse
Totally agree
21
4
4
Serbia
11
10
11
14
5
5
6
3
Albania
8
Bosnia and Montenegro The Former Kosovo*
Herzegovina
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
A big majority (86%) think that their domestic products and goods can compete
well with products from other parts of the
SEE region (see Figure 27a).
50
4
8
4
SEE
The lowest percentage shares the mentioned opinion in Kosovo* (69%) while in
Croatia even 93% believe in quality of their
products in comparison with products from
other parts of the region.
51
100%
2
4
4
3
3
21
90%
80%
70%
57
45
34
29
40
35
37
9
2
Croatia
9
16
6
4
Serbia
Tend to agree
Totally
disagree
37
30
20%
0%
39
39
42
40%
DK/refuse
Totally agree
20
41
44
50%
10%
3
Tend to
disagree
60%
30%
3
19
13
9
9
24
11
The Former Bosnia and Montenegro Albania
Yugoslav Herzegovina
Republic of
Macedonia
When it comes to products and goods from
the EU, somewhat lower percentage of people believe in quality of their domestic products (78% on the SEE level) (see Figure 27b).
15
Kosovo*
7
SEE
90%
18
24
80%
22
70%
17
16
13
18
11
24
17
DK/refuse
16
18
16
17
60
39
40%
42
43
Kosovo*
42
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
36
Tend to agree
Tend to
disagree
32
24
Montenegro
25
Croatia
24
35
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
24
35
36
20%
36
3
39
2
37
40%
On the SEE level we have almost the same
number of people who think that people
from other parts of the region are something good for their economy (26%), and
those who have a neutral opinion (31%). 40%
think that this idea is bad for their economies (see Figure 28).
60%
bad
DK/refuse
5
5
44
33
19
2
4
43
25
good
Neither good
nor bad
40
16
29
3
80%
100%
Only in Albania and Kosovo* there are more
of those who think that people from other
parts of the region are something good for
their economies, while in all others dominates opinion that people from other parts
of the region are bad for their economies.
Totally
disagree
36
39
Totally agree
40
31
26
Albania
0%
60%
50%
Figure 28: What do you think about people from other parts of the region coming to
live and work in your city? Is it good or bad for your economy?
Serbia
Figure 27 (c): My economy has benefited a lot from free trade (which is carried out in
region from 2006 within CEFTA) (Agreement level; 1-4 scale)
15
If we compare seven economies, we can see
that the highest percentage of people who
SEE
13
In Croatia there is still the highest percentage of people (87%) who think that their
goods and products are as good as those
from the EU.
1
agree with this statement is from Albania
(78%), followed by Croatia (61%), while
among people from Bosnia and Herzegovina
are the highest number of those who do not
agree with this statement (36%).
23
In Kosovo* 59% think that their products
and goods can compete well with products
from the EU.
100%
On the SEE level, 58% people agree with the
fact that their economies have benefited a
lot from free trade, while 25% do not share
their opinion (see Figure 27c).
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 27 (b): Products and goods of my economy can compete well with products and
goods from the EU (Agreement level; 1-4 scale)
40
37
30%
20%
52
18
13
3
7
8
Albania
Croatia
Serbia
10%
17
0%
20
21
8
9
23
17
20
3
13
Montenegro Kosovo* The Former Bosnia and
Yugoslav Herzegovina
Republic of
Macedonia
8
SEE
53
90%
6
3
6
2
80%
25
8
1
10
7
8
46
53
70%
11
42
12
26
2
13
30
43
59
60%
Croatia
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Serbia
Kosovo*
On the SEE level a big majority (85%) as
their first choice prefer domestic products,
while for the second choice they are divided
between SEE products (40%) and Western
European products (43%) (see Figure 29).
Among people from The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia and Albania there
is the lowest number of those who choose
domestic products for the first choice
(71%/72%). In Albania 26% choose products
from the Western Europe for the first choice.
When it comes to the second choice, the
difference exist among two groups of the
economies: in Croatia (53%), Albania (59%),
Serbia (46%) and Kosovo* (42%) dominate
products from Western Europe while in
Bosnia and Herzegovina (63%). Montenegro
(60%) and The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia (51%) dominate products from
SEE economies.
Albania
40
15
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
10
2. choice
1. choice
1. choice
2. choice
22
11
Montenegro
18
71
Product from
SEE
Domestic
products
85
1. choice
72
51
2. choice
60
2. choice
2. choice
11
7
6
1. choice
1. choice
7
79
28
38
2. choice
10%
80
1. choice
88
33
20%
0%
63
1. choice
30%
90
2. choice
90
1. choice
50%
40%
54
21
Products from
Western Europe
10
3
SEE
Looking on the SEE level, more than three
fourths have an opinion that government
should give priority to local suppliers and
only 20% think that local suppliers should
be treated the same as a foreign (see Figure
30).
In Bosnia and Herzegovina (87%) and Serbia
(85%) there is the highest percentage of
those who think that local suppliers should
have a priority.
Among people from The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo*
there are approximately 60% who favour
priority for local suppliers and 30% who support the same treatment for both suppliers.
Figure 30: When procuring products and services, should your government give priority
to local suppliers, or should they be treated the same as foreign suppliers
(provided price and quality is equal)?
78
SEE
20
87
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
11
85
Serbia
20
64
Kosovo*
31
62
Albania
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
20%
2
6
Local suppliers
should be given
priority
Local suppliers
should be
treated the same
as foreign
suppliers in
public
procurement
DK/refuse
4
37
60
0%
2
17
74
Montenegro
2
13
81
Croatia
2
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
100%
2. choice
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 29: If you have a choice of product from food and beverages from three different
sources: domestic product, product from SEE region and product from Western
Europe, which one would be your first choice and which would be
second?
35
40%
60%
80%
5
100%
Good and Services
The economies that export more to the
region, e.g. Serbia, The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia and Croatia, seem
to be happier with the current level of trade
integration than the other economies that
rely a lot on imports from the region but
do not export all that much. Albania is most
keen on improved regional trade, which reflects the fact that, in terms of trade, it is
hardly present in the region (see Figure 25).
to some bad experiences and for specific
protectionist reasons (e.g. keeping strategic
companies and sectors in domestic ownership). These are also economies that have
received more foreign investments than the
others, with the exception of Montenegro,
which depends heavily on foreign investment and that is reflected in its more benevolent attitude toward foreign companies
(see Figure 26).
So, exporters seem to be more content with
the current state of affairs and would support even further improvement, while importers are eager for improvement as they
are not happy with the current state of play
given that they run significant deficits with
the other economies. In the latter category,
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo* are
the most prominent.
Albania and Kosovo* have proved rather slow in creating enterprises, while The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has
been following the policy of inviting foreign
investments with growing success (though
overall inflow is still rather small).
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Croatia
are less welcoming to foreign companies due
Though the competitiveness of all of these
economies is low or quite low, their trade
deficits being quite high and persistent,
their people believe in the quality of the
goods they produce. When it comes to
55
In trade with the EU, however, the belief in
the competitiveness of the local production
is a misperception, possibly due to the tendency to think only in terms of the few of
the products that these economies succeed
in exporting to the EU. Or perhaps the intended message is that these economies are
potentially capable of producing everything
that more developed economies produce.
The generally positive assessment of the
competitiveness of their economies, especially on the intra-regional markets, does
not completely translate into a favourable
assessment of the CEFTA. Still, the overall appreciation of this regional free trade
agreement is quite high given that the intra-regional imbalances are also quite high
and persistent. That probably reflects the
assessment that the chances of making it
on the CEFTA markets are still higher than
on the EU or other markets.
SMART GROWTH – PERCEPTIONS OF SKILLS AND EDUCATION
PERFORMANCE
Figure 31: What do you think is most important for getting ahead in life?
Finally, mobility, and that means also supply of services, is not all that welcomed
throughout the region, even though in previous answers specific mobility within the
region was seen as a preferable alternative
to staying in one’s own economy. So, there
is a difference when one is on the receiving
end of mobility (see Figure 28).
Consumers prefer domestic to EU products
and to products from other parts of the
region, which probably explains why they
believe that domestic production is competitive. They also believe that domestic
companies should be preferred to foreign
ones. These attitudes, though not to such
extreme, are not that unusual in most EU
economies. Domestic bias is somewhat exceptionally strong (see Figures 29 and 30).
SEE
25
Albania
30
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
28
Montenegro
27
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
25
Croatia
24
Serbia
23
Kosovo*
23
18
46
22
13
20
28
18
40%
The entire population of the SEE region
stated three main factors as the most important for making progress in life: hard
work, good education and acquaintance
with “the right people” (see Figure 31).
If we analyse all seven economies, we notice the following main differences between
them: people from Kosovo* differ from all
other economies because majority (61%)
considers a good education to be the most
important factor for making progress in life.
A similar opinion was provided by people
from Albania.
Having a good
education
31
Knowing the
right people
21
7
31
Being lucky
31
13
7
24
7
9
60%
Working hard
8
61
20%
4 4
22
26
31
18
16
25
14
7
16
20
22
21
0%
23
80%
3
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
intra-regional trade, trade surplus economies like Croatia and Serbia are justified in
their beliefs, but the others, with the partial
exception of The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, are less successful on the regional markets (see Figure 27).
Belonging to a
wealthy family
Other
DK/refuse
51
5 22
100%
more (13%) of those who think that belonging to a wealthy family is the most important factor for a successful life if compared
to people from other economies.
In Serbia there are significantly more people
(24%) (in comparison with Albania, Kosovo*,
Bosnia and Herzegovina and The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) who think
that good fortune is the most important
factor for being successful in life.
Among inhabitants of The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia there are significantly
56
57
73
70
50
59
58
20
10
0
51
48
51
46
50
40
30
79
SEE
80
60
Figure 33: If you could choose, would you prefer to work in the public or private sector?
34
27
26
17
14
8
18
15 13
11
98
52
46 45
Serbia
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Level of one’s qualification/education
Language skills
other
11
7
56
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Kosovo*
Ability to adapt
Computer skills
None of these
However, these three things are not the
most important for each economy. Namely,
the biggest difference could be noticed in
Albania and Kosovo*, where qualification/
education is perceived as the most important issue for much more people than in
other parts of the region. Also, in these
economies professional experience is perceived as more important issue than in
others.
22 22
19 18
15
For the SEE region three the most important things which person should have in
order to easily find a job are qualification/
education, ability to adapt and professional
experience (see Figure 32).
36
27
24
9
1
27
18
10
7
6
1
Albania
16
10
8
3
Montenegro
89
8
3
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
88
9
3
80
1
Croatia
74
Albania
74
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
73
Montenegro
73
0%
SEE
Professional experience
Willingness to work abroad
In Croatia ability to adapt is, with qualification/education, the most important skill in
order to easily find a job today, while people
from Montenegro perceived language skills
(45%) as important asset more than other
economies.
10%
30%
13
20
private sector
DK/refuse
7
6
26
20
7
23
40%
50%
SEE population prefer to work in public sector (79%) and only 16% would choose private sector (see Figure 33).
60%
70%
80%
4
90%
100%
People from Albania are significantly different from Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Kosovo* in terms of private sector preference.
Kosovo* (89%) and Bosnia and Herzegovina
(88%) have significantly more people who
would rather work in public sector than in
private sector.
Figure 34: Does your education level represent an obstacle in the labour market?
SEE
4
13
Kosovo*
9
Albania
8
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
Bosnia and Herzegovina 3
Montenegro 3
Serbia 2
10
18
13
14
16
11
10%
5
49
9
55
12
51
9
17
62
9
20%
40%
7
4
28
50%
4
20
43
30%
6
12
52
8
3
10
50
7
13
19
12
8
11
0%
49
18
5
Croatia 2
58
20%
public sector
5
Kosovo*
Serbia
45
38
32
30
3
Croatia
64
46
45
30
26
26
67
16
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 32: In your opinion which two assets should one emphasize in order to easily find
a job today? (Max. two answers)
60%
70%
80%
7
90%
100%
Yes, I consider myself “over educated”
for the labour market
Yes, I consider myself “under
educated” for the labour market
I do not have experience
with searching jobs
Yes, I think that my kind of education is
not required enough in the labor market
No
DK/refuse
59
Serbia is different from the others with significantly more people who do not have experience with searching jobs (28%).
In Montenegro there are the highest percentage of people who do not consider their
education as an obstacle in the labour market (62%).
In Kosovo* there is the most (18%) of those
who think their education is not required
enough in the labour market, while in
Albania are the highest number of people
who evaluated themselves as „undereducated” (18%).
Figure 36: Which of the following services/products your household possess?
120
100
80
56
4
40
yes
no
67
Kosovo*
62
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
60
Croatia
58
Montenegro
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
10%
20%
37
3
5
5
52
42
0%
4
41
47
Albania
DK/refuse
33
37
54
Serbia
8
25
6
52
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100
96
96
89
85
66
65
60
70
64
60
72
65
56
93
90
93
86
82 81
79
70
67
61
56
52
41 45
40
68
67
65
20
0
Figure 35. Would you consider attending additional education/courses to help you find
a job?
SEE
93
92
93
89
87
92
91
80
70
68
Croatia
Serbia
Mobile phone access
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Television at home
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Kosovo*
Fixed telephone access
In the SEE region 93% of households posses mobile phones; 90% TV at home (see
Figure 36).
Albania
Montenegro
Personal computer
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
For a half of the SEE population (49%) their
education is not an obstacle in the labour
market, 13% think that their education is
not required enough in the labour market,
while 10% think that they are „undereducated”. 19% do not have experience with
searching jobs (see Figure 34).
SEE
Internet access at home
Internet access at home (45%). The cause
of lower PC ownership rates in comparison
with the Internet access rate in some economies could be the fact that the Internet
access is available via other technologies
such as smart phones and laptops.
Approximately two thirds of households
posses personal computers, fixed telephone
and Internet access at home.
In Serbia (87%) and Croatia (80%) there
is the highest number of households who
possess fixed telephone, while in Kosovo*
the highest number has Internet access at
home (79%) and personal computers (81%).
Analysing results for specific economy, we
can see that in Albania the lowest number of households possesses fixed telephone (41%), personal computers (52%) and
100%
Figure 37: What kind of Internet access do you have at home?
Approximately a half of the SEE population
(56%) are ready for attending additional education in order to find a job easier (see
Figure 35).
The highest number of people who would
consider attending additional education is
from Kosovo* (67%) and the lowest number
of those who are ready for additional education is from The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia (42%).
70
60
Cable
50
36
30
36
0
11
4
Croatia
11
Serbia
4
24
1
3
Other
29
19
20
5
Dial-up
39
35
27
23
Satellite
44
43
40
10
60
ADSL
59
214
Bosnia and The Former
Herzegovina Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
15
12
4
Kosovo*
21
15
14
231
Albania
32
7
Montenegro
4
22
SEE
61
In Croatia domination of ADSL connection
is present (59%), while in Kosovo* there is
the highest number of households who use
dial-up (15%) for Internet access at home.
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
is the only place where more people use
cable (43%) than ADSL (24%) for Internet
connection at home.
Majority of those who have television at
home use cable TV (52%), while 34% use
antenna and 9% satellite TV (see Figure 38).
Figure 38: What kind of television connection do you have at home?
(Those who have television at home)
90
Cable TV
77
80
64
70
60
60
Antena
Satellite TV
58
56
55
53
52
50
40
30
20
21
13
Croatia
Serbia
34
29
8
5
10
0
30
26
34
27
14
16
Kosovo*
Albania
18
9
6 4
Bosnia and The Former
Herzegovina Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Montenegro
SEE
Figure 39: Did you personally buy any products or services via the Internet in the last
12 months?
15
SEE
21
Croatia
17
81
Serbia
15
85
Kosovo*
12
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
12
0%
62
1
2
3
85
88
9
Albania
DK/refuse
80
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
yes
no
79
19
Montenegro
1
85
In Croatia there are significantly more
people (21%) who bought some products
via Internet in the past 12 months than
in Albania (9%), Bosnia and Herzegovina
(12%), Kosovo* (12%) and Serbia (15%).
(see Figure 39).
Education and Skills
Statistically, more skilled (educated) people
have greater chances of being employed
and of working in their own field (see Figure
39). The answers to the set of questions on
smart growth suggest that there is a broadly based awareness of that fact. The data
on public spending and on the labour markets in the region do not indicate, however,
that there is significant increase in spending on education, both individually or by
the government. In the previous answers,
it came out clearly that access to education
is an important motive to support EU integration. So, clearly, there is scope to invest
in education directly and via active labour
market policies.
The other important issue in the labour
markets in the region is job security. From
the overwhelming preference for public over
private jobs, it is clear that security of employment is of paramount importance (see
Figure 33). This goes against the fact that
most jobs that have been and will be created in the future will tend to be in the private
sector. However, the recent experience with
large job cuts precisely in the private sector
obviously make them less attractive. The
preference for private sector, expectedly,
fades away with age cohorts but even in
the youngest cohort (18-29) it stays at very
high 75%. This calls attention, among other
things, at the issue of where is the potential
for business and entrepreneurial spirit that
is much needed to push the region on the
growth pathway.
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Majority of those who have Internet access
at home use ADSL for Internet connection
(39%), followed by cable connection (21%)
(see Figure 37).
The responses indicate the existence of
market mismatches (there are skills not
demanded enough) and also the understanding for the need to acquire additional
skills and education (see Figure 35). That
suggests the need for active labour market
policies which are quite underdeveloped and
underfunded in the region.
The answers suggest that in a number of
economies, Albania and Kosovo* are exceptions, being connected and having luck are
considered important factors in getting a
job. This suggests the existence of institutional, formal and informal, inertia in most
post-Yugoslav economies, while that seems
to exist to a smaller extent in Kosovo* and
Albania (see Figure 31).
We know from surveys conducted on small
and medium enterprises, which account to
more than 95 percent of all firms in the region, that they are not innovative and not
internationalised, which explains the low use
of internet and other resources in education and work. This is also due to the fact
that these economies are quite closed in
terms of exports and production of tradable
goods, i.e. industrial products.
91
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
63
Figure 41. How often do you use public transportation?
16
SEE
Figure 40: Does your household own a car? (company cars are not counted)
59
SEE
8 1
67
Kosovo*
9
66
Croatia
9
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
61
9
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
60
7 1
Serbia
59
Yes, one car
32
2
21
2
28
32
Yes, two cars
Yes, three
or more
No
24
2
6 1
1
26
Kosovo*
DK/refuse
1
34
Serbia
19
14
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
19
14
Albania
17
Croatia
15
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
10
Montenegro
7
0%
52
Montenegro
41
Albania
0%
10%
20%
14
31
30%
40%
In the SEE region 68% households have
cars. Among them, 59% have only one car
per household and 8% more than one (see
Figure 40).
In Albania there are significantly less households who have cars (45%) than in all other
parts of the region.
In Kosovo* (78%) and Croatia (77%) there
is the highest number of households with
their own cars.
5
29
60%
70%
80%
20%
30%
40%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
90%
100%
In the SEE region, 42% of population have
never or almost never used public transportation (see Figure 41).
Public transportation use more often people from Kosovo* (79%) and from Albania
(76%).
Although we have very similar usage in
these two economies, it is different based on
frequency of usage: people in Kosovo* use
public transportation every day (26%) or a
few times during one month (27%), while
the highest number of people in Albania
uses it a few times during one month (34%).
A half of the population in Croatia, Bosnia
and Herzegovina and Montenegro do not
use public transportation.
Figure 42: How often do you travel, for work or pleasure, outside of your place of residence,
either domestically or abroad? (daily commute outside the city/town of
residence is included).
17
26
SEE
16
8
37
Kosovo*
31
Serbia
27
Montenegro
Albania
26
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
22
17
8
16
20
8
5
6
21
14
14
15
12
11
20
23
18
2
1-2 times
per year
13
3
3-5 times
per year
15
2
Once every
month
2
Weekly
18
9
11
More often
11
Never
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
10
21
22
15
18
Croatia
0%
10%
15
20%
14
30%
40%
In the SEE region, 18% of population have
never travelled outside of their places of
residence (see Figure 42).
The highest number of people who travelled outside of their places of residence is
in Albania (89%) and the lowest number is
in Bosnia and Herzegovina (68%).
64
50%
1
55
50%
10%
DK/refuse
1
55
8
20
8
Never/almost
never
55
10
17
8
Seasonal (for
example only
during the
winter)
53
7
16
9
A few times
during one
month
24
9
34
17
A few times a
week (2-3)
2
38
8
19
1
38
6
23
20
3
27
22
Every day/
mostly every
day
42
7
22
13
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH – VIEWS ON CONNECTIVITY AND
INFRASTRUCTURE
7
14
16
4
12
50%
30
12
21
23
60%
70%
2
80%
DK/refuse
4
17
1
90%
100%
In Croatia people travel most frequently –
12% weekly and 23% more often, while in
Serbia there are only 16% who travel weekly or more often outside of their places of
residence.
65
73
Croatia
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
69
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
52
Albania
52
0%
10%
20%
28
111
3 4 31
13 3
1121
43
40%
50%
60%
Bus
Airplane
Train
Other
I did not travel
in the past 12
months
I don't know/
refuse to answer
70%
Only Croatia is the exception, where people
think that their transport infrastructure is
better than that in the region. Besides that,
people from Croatia estimated their transport infrastructure significantly better than
all other economies (mean is 3,2).
80%
90%
100%
100%
Among those who travelled in the past 12
months outside of their places of residence
(80%), the majority (59%) use cars as mode
of transport most often. One third most
often use buses (see Figure 43).
In Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, in
comparison with Kosovo*, Albania, Serbia
and The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, people use significantly more
often car as mode of transport when they
travel outside of their places of residence.
On the other hand, in Kosovo*, Serbia and
Albania people use more often buses as
mode of transport when they travel outside of their residence.
1
6
80%
24
2
2
3
1
6
15
53
60%
40%
3.2
54
13
66
6
45
49
3
6
44
2
7
5.0
2
2
10
4.0
37
46
62
2.5
2.9
3
Croatia
DK/refuse
3.0
2.4
2.6
2.6
2.5
2.5
31
32
36
5
7
12
8
12
14
10
Kosovo*
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Montenegro
Albania
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Serbia
SEE
20%
0%
2
2
7
15
Excellent
Very good
Good
33
Poor
40
Very poor
30
2.0
Mean
80%
5
7
10
3
12
20
3.1
3.3
40%
2
2
22
60%
56
2.9
65
56
18
3
9
2.9
50
7
1
13
5.0
23
1
6
55
2.9
26
1
9
45
37
2.7
2.7
17
2
11
4.0
48
3.0
2.9
2.0
20%
0%
Figure 44: How will you estimate quality of transport infrastructure and connections
within your economy? (1-5 scale)
100%
In other economies, approximately 40% of
the population believe their transport infrastructure and connections are poor or
very poor.
Figure 45: How will you estimate quality of transport infrastructure and connections
within SEE region? (1-5 scale)
11 4
45
30%
Automobile
People from Serbia perceive their transport
infrastructure as the worst (54% estimated
it as poor or very poor).
11
46
49
Kosovo*
23 3
37
55
Serbia
20
26
64
Montenegro
1221
36
59
SEE
Population from the SEE region estimated
quality of transport infrastructure and connections within region better (mean is 2,9)
(see Figure 45) than in their own economies
(mean is 2,6) (see Figure 44).
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 43: Which mode of transport did you use most often when travelling in the past
12 months? (Those who travel outside of their residence)
8
1
Croatia
DK/refuse
11
2
16
Kosovo*
16
19
19
24
19
4
3
5
5
4
4
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Montenegro
Albania
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Serbia
SEE
Good
Poor
Excellent
Very good
23% of the SEE population think that regional transport and connections are poor
or very poor, 48% perceive it as good, while
13% estimated regional transport as very
good or excellent (see Figure 45).
People from Kosovo* and Croatia estimated regional transport and connections
Very poor
1.0
Mean
significantly better than all other economies. Only 9% people from Croatia and 13%
from Kosovo* think that transport is poor
or very poor.
The lowest mark (2,7) for the regional transportation have given people from Bosnia
and Herzegovina and Serbia.
1.0
67
100%
1
90%
18
1
10
1
4
4
6
31
45
3
1
3
31
31
29
1
7
DK/refuse
Totally agree
80%
70%
1
4
Tend to agree
40
47
Tend to
disagree
60%
50%
69
34
29
11
2
15
Croatia
42
40
45
34
20%
25
24
Figure 48: When it comes to social and employment issues, in your opinion, in which of
the following areas should your government invest its resources as a priority?
22
18
Serbia
SEE
10
Kosovo* The Former Bosnia and Montenegro Albania
Yugoslav Herzegovina
Republic of
Macedonia
More than a half of the SEE population (52%)
would not agree that travelling by road in
their economies is safe (see Figure 46).
According to the obtained results, we can
divide these seven economies in three categories: in the first one is only Croatia where
a big majority (87%) of people agree with
this statement.
SEE
In the second category are Kosovo* and
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
where are more of those who agree than
those who do not agree with this statement.
And in the third category are Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania and
Serbia where more than 60% of population
think that travelling by road in their economies is not safe.
22 4 2
13
77
SEE
90
Albania
84
Serbia
8
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
78
6
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
77
11
74
Kosovo*
60
Croatia
0%
10%
20%
30%
25
40%
50%
60%
70%
Railroads
Air travel
14 3
Waterway
transport
6 23 4
11
31 5 3
80%
None of the
above – I do
not travel
DK/refuse
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Croatia
Montenegro
7
11
6
7
25
14
7
Kosovo*
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
4
7
14
8
4 3
3 4
6 3
90%
100%
5
12
7
28
13
6
41 5 3
25
4
414
7
21
6
4 4
6
Serbia 2 3
0%
6
10%
7
40%
50%
Energy sector
Social infrastructure (such as schools and hospitals)
Agriculture
Industrial development
DK/refuse
When we are observing the whole SEE region, the agriculture (25%) and industrial
development (28%) are the two most often
mentioned priorities for investments (see
Figure 48).
However, the results are different in specified economies.
In Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are
most of those who think that priority investment is industrial development, while
5 1
4
22
1
21
15
14
29
60%
12
20
5
4
2
20
31
31
30%
10
35
31
20%
1
35
19
3
18
22
11
5
28
19
3 11
7
4
Roads
9
20
72
Montenegro
4
Albania
Figure 47: According to your opinion, which passenger transport mode improvements
would have the highest impact on the quality of your everyday life?
68
In whole region dominates a desire for road
improvements.
34
29
30%
0%
The biggest difference is obtained in Croatia
where are significantly more people who
think that improvement of railroads would
have the highest impact on their lives (25%).
This is understandable because the majority
of Croatians are satisfied with their roads.
Besides Croatia, even 20% of population from Kosovo* are also for railroad
improvements.
Totally
disagree
40%
10%
In the SEE region, citizens believe improvement of the roads would have the highest
impact on the quality of people’s everyday
life (77%) (see Figure 47).
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 46: Would you agree that travelling by road in your economy is safe?
18
70%
80%
90%
1
2
3
100%
Transport infrastructure
Tourism
Science and technology
Small and medium enterprise development
in Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo* people
think that their governments should firstly
invest in agriculture.
Investment in SME development has the
lowest percentage in Kosovo* (5%).
Tourism is on the second position in Albania
and Montenegro (after agriculture) as a priority of their economies for social and employment improvement.
69
1
100%
1
1
1
DK/refuse
90%
Very important
80%
Fairly important
70%
60%
75
52
62
67
76
77
Not very important
67
76
Not at all important
On the other hand, in Kosovo* there are
significantly more of those who expect lower
pollution.
50%
Figure 51: Agreement with the statement: Government needs to enforce stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment?
40%
30%
37
20%
10%
0%
29
24
2
32
Albania
3
1
Croatia
4
1
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
4
1
Serbia
27
14
17
19
5
1
Kosovo*
9
2
7
1
100%
3
Environment protection is important for a
big majority of population in the SEE region
(94%) (see Figure 49).
SEE
80%
42
70%
The lowest importance is obtained in The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
where 11% of population think that is not
important.
Figure 50: Do you expect higher, about the same or lower pollution in your county in
the next 5 to 10 years?
42
18
37
56
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
28
3
13
3
Croatia
46
40
10
4
Serbia
46
39
12
3
44
Montenegro
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
28
0%
10%
37
37
19
Kosovo*
30%
2
53
27
20%
40%
5
3
25
44
26
Albania
15
36
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
5
1
3
2
55
43
47
65
50
61
Tend to agree
51
40%
50
36
36
43
20%
0%
Tend to
disagree
Totally
disagree
50%
30%
DK/refuse
Totally agree
37
25
6
3
9
4
39
25
10%
SEE
4
90%
4
1
Montenegro The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
1
60%
70
In Bosnia and Herzegovina there are significantly more people than in the rest of the
region who expect higher pollution (56%).
Approximately there is the same number
of people in the SEE region who think that
pollution in the next 5 to 10 years will be
higher (42%) and those who think that pollution will be the same (37%). The lowest
percentage expects lower pollution (18%)
(see Figure 50).
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 49: How important is protecting the environment to you personally?
5
2
Croatia
7
3
Albania
5
1
Serbia
5
1
15
3
Bosnia and Montenegro Kosovo* The Former
Herzegovina
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
6
2
SEE
higher
about the same
lower
DK/refuse
A big majority in the SEE region (90%) agree
with the statement that government needs
to enforce stricter laws and regulations to
protect the environment (see Figure 51).
In the SEE region, 72% of the population
are ready to buy environmentally friendly
products even if they cost a little bit more
(see Figure 52).
The lowest percentage of those who are
ready to buy mentioned products is in The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
(57%) and the highest number is in
Montenegro (83%).
100%
71
100%
4
4
90%
80%
70%
32
42
5
20
35
6
6
23
22
50%
30%
13
4
46
41
53
46
47
DK/refuse
Totally agree
25
Tend to agree
Tend to
disagree
44
60%
40%
5
47
Totally
disagree
43
17
17
17
15
13
17
4
7
6
6
8
8
8
7
Montenegro
Albania
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Croatia
Kosovo*
Serbia
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
SEE
10%
10
0%
Figure 53: Do you consider personally that agriculture and rural development is important
for future of your economy?
100%
1
1
2
2
2
1
DK/refuse
90%
Very important
80%
Fairly important
53
70%
60%
71
82
82
81
74
70
Infrastructure is heavily biased towards
roads and away from railways. That is reflected in most of the answers on the significance and development of transportation.
That also accounts for the relatively low intensity of the use of public transportation,
though there are problems inherent to its
organisation that also contribute to this.
It is reported that there is a moderate satisfaction with the quality of roads, though this
is contradicted by the rather high risk of accidents (see Figure 46). That of course also
says something about the quality of driving
and of the regulation and its enforcement.
But, compared to other European regions,
the quality of roads is much poorer in SEE.
30
20%
Roads, Trains, Environment
There is, in some economies, a low use of
transportation of any kind, particularly
where there is a sizeable number of population living in rural areas. Generally, rural areas are not all that well connected with the
urban ones and also between themselves.
When it comes to comparative advantages,
there is preference for investments in agriculture, industry, and small and medium size
enterprises. Science and technology do not
feature all that much, which is in accordance
with the low level of innovation in the region.
In some economies, there is a misperception about the comparative advantages in
agriculture, Serbia being an exception (see
Figure 48).
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 52: Agreement with the statement: I am ready to buy environmentally friendly
products even if they cost a little bit more?
The overall state of the environment is not
very good, which explains perhaps the generally favourable attitudes towards environmentally friendly policies. This is in contrast with the somewhat low investment in
and care for decreasing the various types
of pollution and with the low investment in
prevention against floods and other climatic
shocks.
Not very important
77
Not at all important
50%
40%
30%
35
20%
10%
0%
27
15
17
1
Serbia
2
Albania
1
Croatia
15
21
3
1
4
1
19
9
2
Bosnia and Montenegro Kosovo* The Former
Herzegovina
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Even 96% of the SEE population think that
agriculture and rural development is important for the future of their economies.
Among them, 77% estimated this issue as
very important (see Figure 53).
72
3
23
2
1
SEE
The lowest number of those who share
that opinion is from The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia where 88% consider
agriculture and rural development important for the future of their economy.
73
Figure 55. How confident would you say you are in your ability to keep your job in the
coming 12 months? (employed people)
Figure 54: What is your current working status?
100%
4
5
90%
36
SEE
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
6 3
19
45
6 2
41
Serbia
4 3
39
Croatia
21
32
Montenegro
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
31
Kosovo*
26
Albania
26
0%
10%
16
21
2
17
30%
In the SEE region, 42% of the population
are employed (employed or self-employed),
19% are unemployed and 25% are retired
(see Figure 54).
In The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia there is the highest number
of employed people – 45%, in Albania and
Kosovo* there is the highest number of
unemployed people (Kosovo* - 30% and
Albania – 26%).
The highest number of self-employed people is in Albania – 17%.
Croatia has the highest number of retired
people – 34% while Kosovo* has the highest
number of students/pupils – 14%.
7
34
5
8
22
10
60%
6
28
26
50%
8
26
8
3
7
16
2
30
40%
7
3
24
3 3
25
17
15
6 2
9
20%
5
70%
Self-employed
70%
Moonlighting
Unemployed
Housewife
Retired
Student/pupil
14
16
80%
80%
6
8
4
Employed
18
34
30
48
50%
42
39
10%
15
18
On the other hand, among people from
Montenegro is the highest number of those
who are confident in keeping present jobs
(76%).
19
16
37
25
10
8
8
9
Montenegro
Serbia
Croatia
33
DK/refuse
Very confident
Not very confident
40
Not at all confident
39
23
10
Bosnia and The Former Kosovo*
Herzegovina Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
14
Albania
10
SEE
Figure 56. How confident would you say you are in having a job in two years’ time? (all
respondents, regardless are they looking for job at this moment or not)
100%
90%
80%
70%
14
8
23
12
1
6
7
16
16
15
45
50%
27
33
28
28
23
7
5
22
60%
40%
20
DK/refuse
8
4
16
11
6
5
13
14
12
Fairly confident
Not very confident
32
29
31
Very confident
Not at all confident
44
25
30%
20%
10%
0%
Montenegro The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
33
29
Albania
Croatia
39
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
When we asked all respondents about having jobs in two years’ time, a very low percentage of them are confident in this estimation – only 20% (see Figure 56).
74
3
24
45
21
5
14
Fairly confident
22
100%
Among people from Albania (53%) and
Kosovo* (48%) is the highest number of
those who are not confident in their ability
to keep present jobs.
4
38
20%
0%
Most of the employed people (employed,
self-employed and moonlighting) are confident in their ability to keep their jobs in the
coming 12 months (64%) (see Figure 55).
28
3
30%
7
90%
3
32
60%
40%
3
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
INCLUSIVE GROWTH – EMPLOYMENT AND INCLUSION
31
32
32
Serbia
Kosovo*
SEE
The highest number of people who are confident in having jobs in two years’ time is from
Montenegro – 31%, and from The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (29%), the
lowest number is from Kosovo* - 15%.
75
Kosovo*
Serbia
Montenegro
Albania
17
No
Yes
Bosnia and The Former
Herzegovina Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Figure 59 (a): Agreement with the statement: Some people look down on you because of your income or job situation.
100%
34
90%
80%
C
B
14
A
25
13
11
C
21
15
12
I do not work I do not have
a colleagues
DK/refuse
39 85
51
45
37
B
36
46
A
18
47
B
B
A
C
B
A
Croatia
31
79
40
C
29
16
49
46 3
48 7
48
A
50
24
28
3
1
3
4
7
38 85
89
B
10%
37 82
88
C
51
50
52
A
20%
53
C
40
31
30% 62
0%
77
22
31
47 4
B
6
83
50%
23
46 3
41
1
2
3
4
27
34
34
60%
1
5
A
70%
6
8
B
80% 36
1
14
2
C
2
90%
A
100%
40%
SEE
70%
On the SEE level a half of the population
know someone from their family, relatives
or friends who have lost their jobs. For one
third (34%) someone of their colleagues have
lost their jobs, while 14% of the respondents
lost their own jobs (see Figure 57).
Among Croatians there is the highest number of people who know someone who has
lost his/her job (62%) and those whose colleagues have lost their jobs (50%).
Croatia
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Albania
87
Serbia
87
Kosovo*
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
0%
20%
2
9
96
31
94
51
3
7
90
Montenegro
13
15
7
76
18
6
60%
80%
19
18
24
yes
no
DK/refuse
2
5
2
5
10
10
1
4
9
21
24
23
36
1
2
7
2
4
12
DK/refuse
Totally agree
Tend to agree
22
26
29
Tend to disagree
Totally disagree
31
20%
59
31
Kosovo*
36
62
62
67
45
Albania The Former Bosnia and Montenegro
Yugoslav Herzegovina
Republic of
Macedonia
The big majority on the SEE level do not
agree with the fact that some people look
down on them because of their income
(83%) (see Figure 59a).
The highest number of those who think they
are excluded from some people because of
their income is from Kosovo* (31%) and the
lowest number is from Serbia (9%).
Croatia
Serbia
57
SEE
On the SEE level, 40% of population feel the
risk for themselves of falling into poverty
(see Figure 59b).
The highest number of people who feel the
risk of falling into poverty is from Albania
(48%) and the lowest number is from Bosnia
and Herzegovina (33%) and Montenegro
(34%).
3
10
77
40%
3
4
30%
0%
88
9
40%
10%
Figure 58: Do you think that the gap between the rich and poor is increasing in your
economy?
SEE
6
7
60%
50%
76
The highest number of people who share
the mentioned opinion is from Croatia (96%)
and from Bosnia and Herzegovina (94%),
while the lowest number is from The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (76%) and
Kosovo* (77%).
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
In the SEE region, a big majority (88%) think
that the gap between poor and rich is increasing (see Figure 58).
A - Someone from your family, a relative, or a friend lost its job?
B - One of your colleagues has lost its job?
C - You lost your job?
C
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 57: Please tell me whether each of the following situations has happened to you,
as a result of the economic crisis in the past 3 years?
100%
77
100%
90%
13
6
5
11
12
2
12
3
3
2
2
12
11
13
12
80%
70%
35
33
31
28
28
23
20
28
24
30%
32
28
0%
20
Albania
19
13
80%
60%
28
4
43
40%
20%
10%
25
26
30
100%
Tend to disagree
Totally disagree
50%
32
Totally agree
Tend to agree
60%
40%
DK/refuse
Figure 60: How many people in your family who are able to work are employed?
(People who are able to work are those who are 15 and older who are not in regular education and do not have any other obstacle for working such as disability)
24
Kosovo* The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
32
29
Croatia
Serbia
39
40
Montenegro Bosnia and
Herzegovina
30
20%
0%
SEE
7
13
27
35
1.7
27
13
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
DK/refuse
4
9
4
8
4
9
34
36
32
30
31
29
1.4
1.4
23
26
21
1.4
Serbia
Albania
Montenegro
4 people and more
3 people
2 people
Kosovo*
1
4
18
32
32
3.0
3
8
31
2.0
58
35
1.4
1.6
18
2
7
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 59 (b): Agreement with the statement: I feel that there is a risk for me that I could fall into poverty
28
1.2
Croatia
1 person
19
1.2
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
0 people
22
SEE
1.0
Mean
Figure 59 (c): Agreement with the statement: You feel left out of society
100%
90%
80%
3
6
21
70%
60%
1
5
1
6
14
9
30
3
5
13
10
2
4
2
3
1
5
DK/refuse
11
12
12
Totally agree
In the SEE region, there are 1,4 persons per
family who are able to work are employed
(see Figure 60).
Tend to agree
24
30
26
55
58
21
24
26
Tend to disagree
Totally disagree
29
50%
The highest number of employed people per
family are in The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia – 1,7 and the lowest number is
in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia – 1,2.
40%
30%
20%
42
50
59
62
60
57
10%
0%
The Former Kosovo* Bosnia and Albania
Yugoslav
Herzegovina
Republic of
Macedonia
Croatia
Only 17% of the SEE population feel left
out of society (see Figure 59c).
78
Montenegro
Serbia
SEE
The highest number of those who feel excluded from society are from The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (27%).
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a place where 58%
of families have only one employed person.
In Croatia there are 28% of families without
any employed member.
In the SEE region, 1,1 persons per family
who are able to work are unemployed (see
Figure 61).
The highest number of unemployed persons
per family are in Kosovo*– 2,5 and the lowest
number is in Croatia (0,7) and Serbia (0,8).
In Croatia there are 56% of families without
any unemployed persons, while in Kosovo*
we have only 14% families without any unemployed persons.
Among households in the SEE region which
have at least one unemployed person, the
highest number of them think that lack of
jobs (63%) and not knowing the right people
are main obstacles from getting good jobs
(see Figure 62).
Lack of jobs as an obstacle to get a job
dominate among people in Albania (82%),
Kosovo* (75%) and Croatia (73%).
The lowest percentage of those who think
that age discrimination is an obstacle to get
a job are from Kosovo* (9%), while the highest number is from The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (38%).
Approximately the same number of people
in all economies think that insufficient work
experience is an obstacle to get a job.
79
in the lowest percentage among people
from Croatia (11%) and Serbia (12%).
Figure 61. How many people in your family who are able to work are unemployed?
(People who are able to work are those who are 15 and older who are not in regular education and do not have any other obstacle for working such as disability)
100%
2.5
24
80%
11
12
9
23
18
15
13
18
27
29
Kosovo*
Montenegro
DK/refuse
2.0
28
0.8
1.3
56
1.0
39
49
32
44
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Albania
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
4 people and more
3 people
Serbia
2 people
43
Croatia
1 person
1.0
1.1
0.7
14
0%
3.0
4
7
30
1.3
32
1
3
25
27
1.4
16
20%
1
5
30
26
40%
2
6
5
8
15
23
23
60%
8
0.0
SEE
0 people
Mean
Figure 62: What are the two main obstacles to those in your household who do not work,
to get a good job?
(Households with at least one unemployed person)
90
80
82
75
73
70
63
57
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
80
56
51
47
45
54
53
51
49
20
11
4
13
3
Croatia
18 16
12
8
42
Serbia
39
38
33
31
20
18
18
9
13
3
6
Montenegro
Lack of jobs
Insufficient previous work experience
25
22 21
19
5
3
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
48
46
22
21
667
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Do not know the right people
Inadequate or irrelevant education
26
25
17
9
23
4
Kosovo*
27
19
17
26
20
15
54
Albania
2
Outsiders and Insiders
The answers are generally in accordance
with the statistical data on employment,
unemployment and inactivity. In one respect, there is a significant difference: the
numbers for self-employed are too low. In
most economies, these are the people who
are informally employed and their share in
the population and in the labour force tends
to be much higher than reported here. It is,
however, probably true that these numbers
are exaggerated in the press and in some of
the studies on the share of informal economy in the region.
The region has low employment rates, high
unemployment rates, and high inactivity
rates. For the latter, as reported here, the
share of pensioners, especially in Croatia,
Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is very
high. Unemployment rates are also quite
worrisome, especially because they are persistent, for years or even decades now (see
Figure 54).
With that in mind, it is interesting that people are relatively confident that they will
keep their job in the short run, though not
necessarily in the medium term (two years)
(see Figures 55 and 56). Similarly, unemployment seems to happen more to other
people and other members of the family. In
any case, the number of family members
that are employed, out of those employable,
is very low (see Figure 60).
When it comes to inclusion, or exclusion, the
answers are rather positive, though they are
not consistent with the perception that the
right connection, or rather a lack of one, is
the reason to have or not have a job. There
is some stigma attached to the lack of employment and to low income in Albania and
Kosovo* (see Figure 59).
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Inadequate education as a main obstacle in
the highest percentage is perceived among
people from Albania and Kosovo* (26%) and
The perception of rising inequality is also
very strong, though the statistical and other data do not support that, at least not
to that extent. By most measures, this region has moderate levels of inequality, certainly compared to most other developing
economies. It is a common phenomenon
that income differences are exaggerated.
Especially if the threat of poverty is not
negligible, as it certainly is not in this region
(see Figure 58).
By most measures, this region has moderate levels of inequality, certainly compared
to most other developing countries. This is
a common phenomenon that income differences are exaggerated. Here it may also
reflect a socially widespread (in)equality
criteria inherited from the socialist times.
12
43 5
SEE
Age discrimination (too old, too young)
Disability
81
23% of the SEE population think the law is applied and enforced effectively (see Figure 64).
Figure 63: Do you have confidence in courts and the judiciary?
The highest number of people who share
that opinion are from The Former Yugoslav
100%
90%
3
7
2
2
29
80%
70%
3
5
35
3
1
3
3
27
23
19
26
37
27
Don't know/refuse
to answer
25
I have confidence
at all
Mostly I have
confidence
35
Mostly I do not
confidence
I do not have
confidence at all
41
20%
28
2
2
37
39
29
31
50
41
46
100%
90%
Serbia
Kosovo*
Bosnia and Albania
Herzegovina
SEE
90%
80%
70%
34
3
5
Among people from Montenegro there is
the highest number of people who have
confidence (42%), while in Albania only 17%
have confidence in courts and judiciary.
1
2
3
2
22
22
22
1
2
18
13
42
32
82
39
44
56
31
41
33
30
Croatia
Serbia
39
1
3
8
14
37
35
30
Tend to agree
29
22
2
11
DK/refuse
Totally agree
Tend to agree
33
Tend to disagree
35
30
34
27
17
13
29
22
22
2
9
Totally disagree
31
13
Montenegro The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
22
Croatia
33
21
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Serbia
Regardless of the two previous results about
courts and law, there is still 44% of the SEE
population who think that all their citizens
can go to court to defend their rights (see
Figure 65).
32
29
Kosovo*
Albania
24
SEE
26% of population in the SEE region think
that government acts are in accordance
with the law (see Figure 66).
In Montenegro even 58% of the population
share the mentioned opinion.
In the region, except The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, more than a half
of the population do not agree with this
statement.
The highest suspicion about the same right
for everybody when it comes to courts is
present in Albania (35% agree with this
statement).
Among people from Bosnia and Herzegovina
there is the highest number of people who
think that the government acts are not in
accordance with the law (84%).
Totally agree
Tend to disagree
42
20%
0%
21
DK/refuse
Totally disagree
42
30%
10%
2
2
29
33
50%
1
29
60%
40%
1
3
1
12
20%
Figure 64: Do you agree that the law is applied and enforced effectively?
3
6
43
39
40%
0%
100%
15
15
70%
10%
27% of the SEE population have confidence
in courts and judiciary in their places of living (see Figure 63).
2
80%
30%
Croatia
3
50%
35
16
Montenegro The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Figure 65: Do you agree that all your citizens can go to court to defend their rights?
60%
30%
0%
16
30
50%
10%
1
35
60%
40%
2
4
Republic of Macedonia (40%), and the lowest
number people with the same opinion are
from Bosnia and Herzegovina (15%).
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
GOVERNANCE FOR GROWTH – SATISFACTION WITH PUBLIC
SERVICES AND ATTITUDES ON CORRUPTION
35
15
The Former Montenegro Kosovo*
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Albania
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
SEE
83
Figure 68: Do you agree that the government fights effectively against corruption?
100%
100%
90%
5
8
4
6
80%
70%
2
2
3
2
24
24
2
1
4
23
18
31
40
40
31
0%
45
Tend to disagree
Totally disagree
90%
80%
3
6
4
5
32
Croatia
1
4
14
26
34
25
Serbia
Albania
Kosovo*
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
0%
SEE
2
1
1
2
15
13
2
12
1
2
7
1
2
14
33
38
38
DK/refuse
Totally agree
Tend to agree
Tend to disagree
34
Totally disagree
32
36
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
56
29
38
The Former Montenegro Kosovo*
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Serbia
62
51
48
Croatia
Albania
43
Only 16% of the SEE population think that
the law is applied equally to everyone (see
Figure 67).
84
4
3
3
25
22
1
3
2
2
11
21
1
2
7
2
3
40
DK/refuse
Totally agree
21
24
25
Tend to agree
Tend to disagree
Totally disagree
60%
10%
28
25
60%
50%
5
5
25
30
36
35
38
41
The highest number of people who think
that the law is not equal for everyone is
among the Bosnia and Herzegovina population (90%).
48
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
33
20%
33
22
70%
70%
30%
54
Figure 67: Do you agree that the law is applied to everyone equally?
100%
80%
50%
12
The Former Montenegro
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
90%
4
7
40%
47
27
Tend to agree
39
35
20%
10%
23
41
DK/refuse
Totally agree
13
30
50%
30%
2
3
30
60%
40%
2
3
SEE
61
35
35
65
39
37
30
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 66: Do you agree that the government acts are in accordance with the law?
15
The Former Montenegro
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Croatia
If we are observing results on the SEE level,
we can see that only 24% of the population
think that their governments fight effectively against corruption (see Figure 68).
Only in The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia there are the same number of
people who do not agree (48%) and those
who agree (47%) with this statement.
In other parts of the region more than 65%
believe that their governments do not fight
effectively against corruption.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina there are even
90% of population who share that opinion.
Kosovo*
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
SEE
35% of population of the SEE think that
the administrative procedures in the public institutions are efficient (see Figure 69).
In three economies: Kosovo*, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and
Montenegro there are more people who
think that the administrative procedures
in public institutions are efficient than those
who have opposite opinion.
The highest number of those who consider their public institutions inefficient is in
Serbia (70%) and in Bosnia and Herzegovina
(69%).
In the region more than 60% of people think
that the law is not equal for everyone. In
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
there is the lowest number of those who
share the mentioned opinion (65%).
85
34
6
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
5
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
4
95
Croatia
4
96
Albania
3
97
41
Kosovo* The Former Montenegro
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
26
Albania
Croatia
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
29
28
Serbia
SEE
0%
Figure 70: Have you ever used any government services by electronic means (like e-government)?
yes
no
94
Kosovo*
5
92
Serbia
3
96
Bosnia and
Herzegovina 2
97
0%
20%
40%
3.0
3
1
Price of public
services
2.8
2.6
2.4
60%
80%
2.2
6
100%
2.1
Croatia
2
2.3
2.3
92
The highest number of those who have been
involved is from Kosovo* (8%) and the lowest number is from Serbia (1%).
Figure 72: How would you grade the following issues:
(1-5 scale where 1 means very poor and 5 excellent)
2.4
2.4
2.4
6
100%
2.7
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
2.6
2.6
2.6
92
2.5
8
80%
DK/refuse
2.7
2.7
2.7
2.7
Albania
2
60%
2.8
2.8
88
2.7
10
Montenegro
2.6
1
40%
2.9
95
20%
A big majority of the SEE population (96%)
have never been involved in the consultation process when the government prepared
legislation or any decisions (see Figure 71).
2.6
5
SEE
1
98
Serbia 1
2.5
2.5
12
26
1
2.4
16
4
91
A big majority of people in the SEE region
do not use government services by electronic means (95%) (see Figure 70).
86
The highest percentage of people who use
them are in Montenegro (10%) and the lowest number of those who use them is in
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2%).
2.0
1.8
Time required for
getting information
in public sector
Time required for
obtaining public
services
Treatment of
citizens in public
sector
2.0
2.2
2.3
22
DK/refuse
2
92
Montenegro
2.2
41
no
4
88
8
Kosovo*
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
Tend to disagree
yes
1
96
3
SEE
30
32
20%
0%
Tend to agree
32
2.3
2.3
37
31
40%
10%
Totally agree
Totally disagree
28
18
DK/refuse
39
50%
30%
25
24
3
3
2.1
48
46
4
1
2.4
2.4
32
39
70%
3
4
8
80%
60%
2
2
4
2.3
2.3
8
2.5
90%
4
5
4
10
2.4
2.4
100%
Figure 71: Have you ever been involved in the consultation process when the
government prepares legislation or any decision, such as through public
debate, by contributing comments via the internet, or some other
means?
2.6
2.6
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 69: Do you agree that the administrative procedures in the public institutions are efficient?
Transparency of
public services
The Former Montenegro Kosovo*
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Croatia
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Albania
Serbia
SEE
87
In the region the five issues have the same
range: the price of the public services has
the worst results and transparency and
treatment the best. The rest of the three
issues are between the two mentioned.
The biggest difference between marks
are in The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, where people were giving the
highest marks (between 2,6 and 2,9), and
Serbia, where five observed issues about
public services got the lowest marks (between 2,0 and 2,3).
Figure 73 (b): How would you grade the time required for getting information in
public sector (data which possess bodies of public authority such as documents, registers, record etc).
(1-5 scale where 1 means very poor and 5 excellent)
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
2
2
8
5
3
10
17
55
47
47
2.9
2.7
2.7
29
25
26
6
7
7
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Montenegro
Kosovo*
DK/refuse
Excellent
2
3
11
42
2.6
60%
2
2
8
42
1
11
37
2.5
2.4
32
31
30
14
Croatia
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Transparency of public services was estimated with the highest mark by people from
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
– 2,9 and with the lowest mark by people
from Serbia – 2,3. (see Figure 73a).
4
1
7
30
40
2.3
2
2
9
20%
0%
5.0
Good
20
Albania
Poor
17
Serbia
Very poor
45
47
2.7
2.7
2.6
27
32
31
8
8
9
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Kosovo*
Montenegro
1
1
6
32
31
5
5
24
3
1
7
5.0
32
4.0
Excellent
43
39
42
2.3
2.3
18
20
18
Albania
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Croatia
Serbia
Poor
Very poor
33
Very good
Good
2.1
3.0
39
2.3
23
2.0
18
SEE
1.0
Mean
4.0
39
2.5
33
3.0
Figure 73 (c): How would you grade the treatment of citizens in public sector
(police, health system, judiciary, township etc).
(1-5 scale where 1 means very poor and 5 excellent)
2.0
14
SEE
1.0
Mean
Time required for getting information
in public sector was estimated with the
highest mark by people from The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and from
Kosovo*– 2,7 and with the lowest mark by
people from Serbia – 2,1 (see Figure 73b).
1
3
2
2
10
4
2
10
14
1
1
10
1
2
7
1
11
37
34
80%
60%
46
45
50
44
2
2
6
30
2
2
9
38
5.0
4.0
3.0
40%
20%
0%
36
2.8
2.7
2.6
31
2.6
30
5
8
11
11
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Montenegro
Croatia
Kosovo*
27
DK/refuse
88
2
1
7
43
2.4
DK/refuse
100%
12
Very good
1
12
36
Figure 73 (a): How would you grade the transparency of public services (school,
police, health system, judiciary, public transport etc).
(1-5 scale where 1 means very poor and 5 excellent)
2
4
6
2
9
80%
40%
100%
2
2
12
4
1
12
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Out of five issues in public sector, transparency and treatment of citizens were estimated with the highest mark (2,5) and the
lowest mark was given to prices of public
services (2,2) (see Figure 72).
Excellent
32
Very good
Treatment of citizens in public sector was
estimated with the highest mark by people from The Former Yugoslav Republic of
2.4
18
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Good
2.5
31
41
2.4
2.3
23
19
16
Albania
Serbia
SEE
Poor
Very poor
34
2.0
1.0
Mean
Macedonia - 2,8 and with the lowest mark
by people from Serbia – 2,3. (see Figure
73c).
89
100%
2
3
13
2
1
10
4
2
10
1
13
1
1
8
2
1
8
32
34
80%
60%
47
44
47
33
3
1
6
29
2
1
8
34
5.0
20%
0%
2.8
2.7
2.6
28
32
30
7
8
10
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Montenegro
Kosovo*
Excellent
2.4
20
Albania
Very good
Time required for obtaining public services
was estimated with the highest mark by people from The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia – 2,8 and with the lowest mark by
people from Serbia – 2,2. (see Figure 73d).
4.0
3
2
12
2
1
10
5
2
8
1
12
80%
60%
44
36
46
40
2.4
17
Croatia
Good
37
2.3
19
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Poor
40
2.2
23
Serbia
36
34
34
40%
20%
0%
90
2.6
29
29
1
1
7
29
2.4
2.0
SEE
1
3
26
33
2.5
2.4
2.3
12
16
19
22
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Kosovo*
Montenegro
Albania
Croatia
Excellent
Very good
2
1
3
1.0
Good
5.0
28
4.0
3.0
39
2.0
30
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Serbia
Poor
2
1
6
19
2.1
30
Very poor
2.2
2.0
24
SEE
Mean
5
0
Mean
45
15
10
18
Very poor
40
11
DK/refuse
38
38
38
37
1.0
28
28
25
20
Price of public services was estimated with
the highest mark by people from The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and from
Kosovo*– 2,6 and with the lowest mark by
people from Serbia – 2,0 (see Figure 73e).
38
2.6
40
34
35
Figure 73 (e): How would you grade the price of public services (e.g. issuance of
personal documents, judiciary costs etc).
(1-5 scale where 1 means very poor and 5 excellent)
100%
43
30
32
DK/refuse
47
45
45
3.0
40%
50
17 18
14 13
8
7 7 7
4
32
Croatia
16
13
7
555
3
2
Serbia
28
27
26
23
24
22
20
30
24
23 23
17
15
11
8
5 4 5
2 3
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
19
18 18
12
9
17
11
7 87
4
The Former
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
15
1313
7
5
333
Kosovo*
Politicians at national level
People working in the public health sector
Politicians at local level
People working in judicial services
Police
Inspectors (health, construction, food quality, sanitary control and licensing)
People working in the customs service (carina, carinska uprava)–
People in the SEE region think that among
politicians on the national level (34%), on
the local level (28%) and among people
working in the public health sector, giving
and taking bribe and the abuse of positions
of power for personal gain are widespread
the most (see Figure 74).
However, we can also observe differences
across the region regarding this problem.
Croatia is different from others because
they perceive politicians – on the national
and local level as those who give and take
bribes the most often and who use their
positions for personal gain.
On the other hand, people in Serbia and
Montenegro think that taking and giving
bribes are spread the most among people
working in the public health sector. Albania
stands out because of the fact that the
14
14
11
9 9 9
9
24
22 22
18
17
28
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 74: Do you think that the giving and taking of bribes, and the abuse of positions of power for personal gain, are widespread among any of the following?
(Max. two answers)
Figure 73 (d): How would you grade time required for obtaining public services
(police, health system, judiciary, township etc).
(1-5 scale where 1 means very poor and 5 excellent)
20
17
16
17
16
14
13
13
78
4
454
Albania
Montenegro
12
10
7 6
44
2
SEE
Officials awarding public tenders
Officials issuing building permits
Officials issuing business permits
People working in the education sector
other
DK/refuse
highest number of people thinks that bribe
is spread the most among people working in judicial services. More than in other
parts of the region, people from Kosovo*
perceive that taking and giving bribes is
spread among officials awarding public tenders. Among population of the The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia there is the
lowest number of people who blame politicians for giving and taking bribes, but,
on the other hand, they more than others
blame inspectors for bribes.
Among people from Serbia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Montenegro there is the
highest number of those who think that
among police bribe is spread the most as
well as usage of position for the personal
gain.
91
The overall satisfaction with the rule of law,
the effectiveness, and the impartiality of
the governance structures is rather low. As
in most other sections of this survey, there
are few if any opinions or evaluations that
are above average. However, when asked
directly, the respondents express an opinion
that governance is bad, rather than good.
On the questions regarding the rule of
law, the opinion is somewhat better in
Montenegro, The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, and Croatia, which are most
advanced in the process of EU integration.
Still, it is interesting that the first two, being EU candidates, fare better than the
latter one, a member state. This may be
connected to the economic deterioration
in Croatia, while Montenegro, and especially
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
have done better in the last few years (see
Figures 63-66).
A similar distribution of results was seen
in the questions related to corruption (see
Figure 68). The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia comes out as less corrupt than
Serbia and Croatia, and certainly Kosovo* and
Bosnia and Herzegovina. Kosovo*, however,
seems to have more efficient public institutions, which does not square with the other
results. This may be due to how fast decisions are made rather than how good these
decisions are. This, again, is a rather common
occurrence in some developing economies.
92
On the issue of transparency and accessibility, (see Figures 73a and 73b). The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Montenegro and Kosovo* score better than
Croatia or Serbia, the latter being the worst
overall performer. This is consistent with
political stability and with the more intense
involvement of international actors, the EU
and other multilateral ones. Obviously, only
one of these is not enough, as the cases
of Croatia or Bosnia and Herzegovina have
shown.
Appendix
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Good and Bad Governance
E-governance is very new, as is responsiveness, and public participation in the adoption of legislation is very low or non-existent. It comes down, almost exclusively, to
elections (see Figure 70). This is clear also
from the other data that we have on the
influence of the public and the civil sector,
including the professional organisations and
the NGO’s, on the Government’s decision
making, especially at the central level.
As for corruption, politicians come out on
top (especially in Croatia), but there is a
perception of high corruption in the judiciary (Albania), in healthcare (Serbia,
Montenegro), in the police (Montenegro,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia). In The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the
healthcare sector and customs inspection
stand out. All that is in accordance with the
information we have from other sources (see
Figure 74).
Figure 75: Would you agree with the statement that a cultural heritage (cultural-history
monuments), is a motivation for tourists to visit your city?
100%
2
2
3
3
6
3
90%
80%
70%
43
40
36
59
43
28
38
46
40%
46
30%
Tend to disagree
44
47
9
10
44
42
38
36
10%
0%
Tend to agree
Totally disagree
60%
20%
DK/refuse
Totally agree
28
50%
It is important to stress that the majority of the SEE population believes that the
government is not acting according to the
law, that law is not applied and enforced
effectively and equally to everyone. Also,
politicians at the national level top the corruption rank in SEE. Taken together with
the finding that 70% of the SEE population
do not have confidence in courts and judiciary, this suggest that good governance
potential in the region is at a very low level,
which constitutes an important barrier for
pushing economic growth and development.
3
4
2
Albania
6
3
Kosovo*
5
Croatia
4
9
7
20
17
3
6
5
Serbia
SEE
Montenegro Bosnia and The Former
Herzegovina Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
For the big majority of the SEE population
(80%), a cultural heritage is a motivation for
tourists to visit their cities (see Figure 75).
12
The highest number of people who share
that opinion is from Albania (95%) and the
lowest number is from Serbia (72%).
93
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
28
25
Serbia
28
25
0%
10%
20%
30%
50%
13
60%
5
10
20
12
40%
9
16
9
26
25
Montenegro
5
11
13
29
31
70%
6
6
6
16
27
33
Croatia
9
80%
6
SEE
1
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
4
13
4
8
7
24
40
Kosovo*
6
8
10
6
8
19
49
Albania
6
6
9
15
25
32
SEE
Figure 77: Which tourists would you like to have more, those from the SEE region or from
other parts of world?
13
6
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
7
5
Kosovo*
5
Serbia
4
26
Croatia 2
30
8
8
7
90%
100%
Shared understanding of history
Cultural exchange (film, theatre, music)
Rehabilitating common cultural heritage
DK/refuse
Regional student exchange programs
3 4
61
32
61
6 3
64
26
10%
4 3
66
30
0%
32
62
19
Albania 2
Increased trade and commerce within the region
None of the above
8
4 2
50
22
5
5
61
32
10
Montenegro
7
27
30%
40%
50%
60%
Those from other
parts of the world
Both equally
None of them
12
69
20%
Those from region
(Albania, BiH,
Kosovo*, The
Former Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia,
Montenegro,
Serbia)
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 76: Which of these can best contribute to reconciliation in SEE region?
2
70%
80%
90%
100%
Figure 78: Would you agree that tourism workers in your economy are well qualified?
The most people in the SEE region (32%)
have opinion that increasing trade and com­
merce within the region can con­tribute to
their reconciliation the best (see Figure 76).
At second place is a shared understanding
of history (25%).
The majority (61%) of the SEE population
would like to have both types of tourists:
those from the region and those from other
parts of the world, while 27% would prefer
tourist from other parts of the world (see
Figure 77).
100%
90%
4
14
80%
17
Rehabilitating common cultural heritage as
contribution to reconciliation in region is
perceived the best in The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (16%) and regional
exchange student program is per­ceived the
best in Kosovo* (13%).
94
Among people from Bosnia and Herzegovina
(13%) and Montenegro (10%) there is the
highest number of those who prefer tourists from the region.
Among people from Bosnia and Herzegovina
(32%), Croatia (30%) and Kosovo* (30%)
there is the highest number of those who
prefer tourists from other parts of the world.
7
11
9
7
12
10
7
9
DK/refuse
Totally agree
Tend to agree
Tend to disagree
70%
50%
12
7
8
49
60%
In Albania, almost a half of the population
think that increased trade and commerce
can best contribute to reconciliation in the
region, while in Montenegro we have only
25% people who share that opinion.
10
56
48
44
46
Totally disagree
36
49
52
40%
26
30%
20%
10%
0%
30
20
27
18
5
5
Croatia
Serbia
11
Albania
5
27
27
11
11
23
20
The Former Montenegro Kosovo* Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
58% of the SEE population think that tourism workers in their economies are well
qualified, while 32% do not share that opinion (see Figure 78).
9
SEE
The highest number of people who think
that their tourism workers are well qualified
is from Croatia (70%), and the lowest number of those who share the mentioned opinion is from Bosnia and Herzegovina (43%).
95
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
People from the SEE region estimated people’s hospitality services in their economies
as very good (mean is 3,7) (see Figure 79).
In Serbia even 71% of population estimated people’s hospitality with very good or
excellent.
The highest mark for people’s hospitality services was given by people in Serbia
(mean is 4,1) and the lowest by people in
Albania (mean is 3,3).
In the rest of the region (except Serbia and
Albania) approximately 45% estimated people’s hospitality as excellent or very good.
Figure 79: How do you assess level of people’s hospitality services in your place of living?
(1 to 5 scale)
100%
80%
1
40
4.1
60%
40%
20%
0%
1
2
1
13
1
22
25
21
3.6
3.6
24
35
25
25
23
3.5
3.5
3.4
41
40
18
31
41
40
8
2
8
4
42
26
3
Serbia
DK/refuse
96
1
Kosovo*
9
2
Bosnia and The Former
Herzegovina Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Excellent
Very good
10
2
Croatia
Good
14
24
25
3.7
4.0
28
3.3
3.0
43
10
4
18
Montenegro
Albania
Poor
5.0
1
2
Very poor
36
2.0
8
2
1.0
SEE
Mean
The answers in this survey are largely in
accordance with what is known from statistical data and research. The region has gone
through a prolonged period of economic decline and, in addition, the post-2009 crisis has been deep and challenging. Thus, a
rather negative assessment of the state of
affairs and subdued expectations for the future are consistent with the experience and
the forecasts. This adds to the relevance of
the sentiment indices produced here.
From the regional and the European point
of view, there is broad support for further
integrative processes. That underlines the
need for closer regional cooperation and for
the acceleration of EU integration. There is
a dose of scepticism about the feasibility of
both processes due to the still quite elevated political risks and uncertainties. However,
a recognition exists that there is no better
way to get access to the most important
public goods – security (and stability), justice (and legitimacy), and above all welfare.
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
CONCLUSIONS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Trade and financial integration of the region
have strong support. That testifies to the
success of CEFTA even though intra-regional trade imbalances are large and persistent. In addition, despite the remaining
protectionist beliefs, cross-border financing
and investments are looked at favourably.
Migration and mobility are a bit different,
with out–of-the-region migration being
preferred to intra-regional mobility. This
may change if the liberalization of services
trade is enhanced and implemented.
Education and skill acquisition in general is
seen as the key to labour market success.
Hard work and professional experience is
also highly valued. By contrast, connections
with insiders and luck remain also quite important, which is an indication that there
are remaining deficiencies in the regulation
of the labour markets.
In the area of sustainable growth, there
is strong path-dependency which favours
roads over other means of transportation.
99
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
This is to the detriment of investments in
railways, where the region is most deficient.
There is support for investment in energy
production, which, together with the rather
elevated awareness of the need to care for
the environment, should suggest the need
to invest more in renewable energy.
The feeling of exclusion is not strong, which
contrasts with the labour market data. Also,
social stigma of being unemployed does not
seem to be strong, with some exceptions.
However, the strong emphases of investing
in social connections in order to secure a job
or carrier is the evidence that the inclusiveness of the labour markets is rather limited.
There are major deficiencies in governance
for growth. The lack of an efficient rule of
law, prevalence of corrupt practices, low
transparency and responsiveness, together with the lack of efficiency and practically
non-existent e-governance suggest that
governance is more of a burden than a support for growth and development. This is
also consistent with what is known from
other surveys and research.
100
Policy recommendations are generally
straightforward. The SEE 2020 Strategy
contains a detailed account of what is to
be done and the survey broadly supports it.
Overall pro-growth policies, which are elaborated in the SEE 2020 Strategy are long
overdue and can be summarised for the respective pillars in the following way:
• The acceleration of regional and EU integration is the main instrument of the
pro-growth strategy, nationally and regionally, which includes enhanced trade
and investment liberalisation and cooperation (within CEFTA and the Stabilisation
and Association Process of the EU).
• The labour market, i.e. low employment,
is the crucial problem and the source of
most of the other economic and social
problems. Therefore active labour market
policies should be a priority, especially
since skill acquisition and better market
intermediation have been recognised
as the key to employment and carrier
development.
• Investment in infrastructure is needed,
with railways and renewable energy topping the list.
• Significant improvement in the sector
of small and medium size enterprises is
needed – primarily in the area of innovation and export orientation.
• Much more inclusive labour markets are
needed because of the persistent lower
participation of unskilled workers, women, the long-term unemployed, and minorities by most characteristics.
• A major decrease in corruption and crime
and major improvements in the rule of
law, increased transparency, responsiveness, efficiency, and e-governance are
needed for governance to be supportive of growth and development in all the
economies and throughout the region.
Methodology used in Public Opinion Survey
is CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing). The survey was conducted via personal household interviews carried out by
trained interviewers from GfK..
Some adjustments and preparations were
necessary for the successful implementation of the survey:
QUESTIONNAIRE
The questionnaire was provided by the RCC.
It contained 74 questions as well as eight demographic questions (regarding region, size
of the settlement, gender, age, education,
nationality, marital status, and social status
of the respondent). The questionnaire was
originally written in English. It was subsequently translated into seven local languages, with the exception of Kosovo*, where
both Albanian and Serbian versions of the
questionnaire were used, and The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, where
questionnaire in two different languages
was also used. The RCC reviewed and approved the translations of the questionnaire.
Since the CAPI methodology was used in
the research, all questionnaires were converted to a digital form and installed on interviewers’ laptops. The programmes were
reviewed by a competent person in each
economy.
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
METHODOLOGY
INTERVIEWERS
The survey was conducted by GfK in all
economies, except Montenegro where De
Facto Consultancy was hired as a sub-contractor. All interviewers were given written
instructions containing general description of the questionnaire, of the method
of selecting addresses for the interviews
and of the respondent selection method.
In addition to the written instructions, all
interviewers were trained to understand
research goals and interviewing methods
(a random route and last birthday method).
Moreover, project coordinators examined
the entire digital quetionnaire jointly with
the interviewers and emphasised some important elements (especially the need to
read individual answers where one or more
answers were possible, etc).. Since a random
route method was chosen for the research,
all GfK interviewers were given the initial
addresses for sampling points, and later on
they started to use a random route method.
SAMPLE
Public Opinion Survey was conducted among
N=1000 respondents in each economy, aged
18+ with the total of 7000 respondents for
the entire SEE region.
The respondents were persons:
• aged 18 or older who reside in private
households;
103
A stratified two-stage clustered design
sample with random route for the selection
of addresses and respondents (last birthday
method) was used in the survey. The described sample was used as most similar to
probability sample which would be too costly. The sampling selection process is random
in the following stages: the selection of the
sampling points, the selection of addresses,
the selection of households and the selection of individuals aged 18 and older.
The number of respondents was calculated
based on the number of inhabitants in each
size of settlements for individual region/
county, while the number of sampling points
was defined based on the obtained number
of respondents (for each region/county and
in each size of settlement). The maximum
number of respondents per one sampling
point was 15.
After defining their number, the sampling
points were chosen randomly according to
the last census data. Households in each
sampling point were chosen by a random
walk method. In a selected household the
respondent was the person whose birthday
came latest (last birthday method).
Table 5: Growth rates
Population 18+:
Serbia5.923.734
The Table-5 shows the total 18+ population
for each economy. Weighted results were
presented for the SEE region based on the
described data.
Croatia3.485.881
Bosnia and Herzegovina
3.107.754
Albania2.060.324
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
104
• whose usual place of residence is in the
territory of the economies included in
the survey;
• who speak the national language(s) well
enough to respond to the questionnaire.
1.497.014
Kosovo*1.147.289
Montenegro474.655
Table 6.: Sample structure by region:
Only Primary sampling units (PSU – counties/regions) and Secondary sampling units
(SSU – size of settlements) were defined
in advance, as quotas. In order to create
the sample design we used the most recent
available statistical data for each economy.
The sample structure by region and size of
settlement for each economy is presented
in Table 6 and Table 7.
Stratification/selection procedure:
In order to obtain the same structure of the
population, firstly the sample was stratified
according to the region or county (depending on economy). At the beginning of the
sampling procedure, the number of persons
to be interviewed in each PSU (region or
county) was defined according to census
data and the share of the region in the total population.
Albania
Berat5
Diber4
Croatia
REGION%
Zagreb and surroundings
26
North Croatia
17
Slavonia17
Lika, Kordun, Banovina
8
Istra, Primorje, Gorski Kotar
12
Dalmatia20
Durrës10
Elbasan10
Fier11
Gjirokaster3
Korča8
Kukës3
Lezhë5
Shkodër7
Tirana27
Vlore6
105
REGION%
Federacija Bosnia and Herzegovina
65
SETTLEMENT SIZE
%
Republika Srpska
31
Croatia
Up to 2.000 inhabitants
39
Brčko Distrikt
4
From 2.001 to 10.000 inhabitants
16
Ferizaj1
From 10.001 to 100.000 inh.
22
Gnjilane11
Over 100.001 inhabitants
23
Peje13
From 2.001 to 10.000 inhabitants
32
Mitrovica16
From 10.001 to 50.000 inhabitants
40
Prizren16
From 50.001 to 100.000 inhabitants
27
Gjakove12
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Up to 5.000 inhabitants
44
Prishtina23
From 5.001 to 19.999 inhabitants
13
8
From 20.000 to 49.999 inh.
15
East10
From 50.000 to 99.999 inh.
10
Southwest11
Over 100.001 inhabitants
18
Southeast9
Kosovo*
Up to 2.000 inhabitants
40
Pelagonia11
From 2.001 to 5.000 inhabitants
18
Polog15
From 5.001 to 10.000 inh.
10
Northeast8
Over 10.001 inhabitants
32
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Up to 2.000 inhabitants
25
From 2.001 to 5.000 inhabitants
14
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo*
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Serbia
Vardar
Skopje29
Beograd23
Albania
Istočna Srbija
22
From 5.001 to 10.000 inh.
8
Zapadna Srbija
28
Over 10.001 inhabitants
53
Urban area
59
Non urban area
41
Urban area
63
Rural area
37
Montenegro
106
Table 7: Sample structure by size of settlement:
Vojvodina27
Serbia
North region
29
Central region
47
Montenegro
South region
24
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
107
Figure 81: Sample structure by age:
Kosovo*
35
32
Figure 84: Sample structure by social status (self estimation):
20
14
Kosovo*
50
50
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
50
50
Albania
27
27
28
18
Albania
49
51
25
33
25
18
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
49
51
Montenegro
23
Montenegro
49
51
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
20
Serbia
48
52
Serbia
19
28
27
27
Croatia
48
52
Croatia
19
26
28
28
0%
20%
male
40%
60%
80%
100%
0%
female
29
27
29
20%
18-29
26
40%
30-45
60%
46-60
22
25
80%
100%
61 and more
15
64
Croatia
13
67
20
17
2
Without/primary
school
2
Secondary
school
(3. Or 4. Years)
Montenegro
12
65
22
1
Serbia
11
64
23
1
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
11
55
31
20
Albania
Serbia
5
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
4
69
Montenegro
4
71
23
Croatia
4
70
26
Kosovo*
3
76
26
0%
3
4
64
20%
40%
80%
16
78
24
73
10%
20%
30%
40%
3
23
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
1
Refuse
to answer
3
1
100%
High school/
university
High school
and university
together
Master/doctoral
degree
11
60%
Average (as
majority)
7
27
61
Bellow average
0%
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Kosovo*
5
Bosnia and
Herzegovina 2
Figure 82: Sample structure by education:
Above the
average
23
73
Albania
PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY
BALKAN BAROMETER 2015
Figure 80: Sample structure by gender:
100%
Figure 83: Sample structure by marital status:
Albania
69
The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
67
24
21
5
23
6 1
Married
Living with
partner
Divorced
Serbia
59
2 5
Montenegro
57
2 5
Croatia
57
3 5
Kosovo*
55
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
108
11
10%
20%
30%
24
23
3
53
0%
25
6
40%
50%
60%
8 1
9
11
35
25
70%
Widow
Refused
to answer
4 3
14
80%
3
Single
90%
1
100%
109
w
Po
ed
r
e
b
C
C
yR
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