MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry during the NATO airstrikes in 1999 left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. After the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government implemented stabilization measures and embarked on a market reform program. After renewing its membership in the IMF in December 2000, a down-sized Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into the international community by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World Bank-European Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June 2001 raised $1.3 billion for economic restructuring. In November 2001, the Paris Club agreed to reschedule the country's $4.5 billion public debt and wrote off 66% of the debt. In July 2004, the London Club of private creditors forgave $1.7 billion of debt just over half the total owed. Belgrade has made only minimal progress in restructuring and privatizing its holdings in major sectors of the economy, including energy and telecommunications. It has made halting progress towards EU membership and is currently pursuing a Stabilization and Association Agreement with Brussels. Serbia is also pursuing membership in the World Trade Organization. Unemployment remains an ongoing political and economic problem. The Republic of Montenegro severed its economy from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era; therefore, the formal separation of Serbia and Montenegro in June 2006 had little real impact on either economy. Kosovo's economy continues to transition to a market-based system and is largely dependent on the international community and the diaspora for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the Serbian dinar are both accepted currencies in Kosovo. While maintaining ultimate oversight, UNMIK continues to work with the EU and Kosovo's local provisional government to accelerate economic growth, lower unemployment, and attract foreign investment to help Kosovo integrate into regional economic structures. The complexity of Serbia and Kosovo's political and legal relationships has created uncertainty over property rights and hindered the privatization of state-owned assets in Kosovo. Most of Kosovo's population lives in rural towns outside of the largest city, Pristina. Inefficient, near-subsistence farming is common.
note: economic data for Serbia currently reflects information for the former Serbia and Montenegro, unless otherwise noted; data for Serbia alone will be added when available
More finance information from Serbia:
General Economic Links:
| Chase.com |
| With many branches across the U.S., Chase provides many personal and business banking services
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| DealBook |
| The New York Times online daily digest of finance news and analysis is constantly updated during the market day.
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| Financial Times |
| This venerable international business newspaper reports extensively on business and stock markets.
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| Financial-portal.com |
Portal presents comprehensive financial resources, articles, news, stats, indexes, financial institutions etc:
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- universal currency converters (all major currencies)
- stock, commodity and other major exchanges
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| Finweb.com - the independent financial portal |
| "Financial security. Everyone wants it; few have it. Many do not realize that true financial security requires strength in every area of one’s financial affairs. It requires a systematic approach, a strategic plan implemented over time, in order to obtain it. But it can be obtained. With the proper educational training and discipline, financial stability and security is within anyone’s grasp. That’s why we’re here: to provide you with a solid foundation of valuable financial knowledge from which to proceed..."
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| Fitch Ratings |
| Provides independent global credit rating information for the world’s credit markets
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| Forbes.com |
| Extensive coverage of business and financial news, Forbes is one of the premier sites covering the world of business.
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| Google Finance |
| Google Finance provides an unclutered interface to finance news, market summary with graphs, stock quotes, top movers and other indicators. Also search companies by stock code.
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| Kiplinger |
| Personal finance site that offers calculators, business news, quotes and much more personal finance information
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| MarketWatch |
| This Dow Jones operated site provides personal finance news, advice and stock market data and analysis
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| MSN Money |
| The MSN (Microsoft Network) provides a finance portal including latest finance news, market updates and resources.
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| Yahoo Finance |
| The Yahoo search engine provides a finance portal with breaking news, market summaries and editor articles.
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