Economy expert says Serbia’s economic growth under two percent

“Our growth rate between 2012 and 2019, including this year’s 3.4 percent, is 13.7 percent cumulatively, or 1.7 percent a year which is insufficient. We are bringing down the average in the region which has a growth of around three percent,” Vujadinovic said.  

According to him, one of the main reasons why Serbia’s economic growth is not better lies in the fact that decision makers don’t understand the economy. “Whoever has not lived through the 15th of the month when VAT is due and the 25th when salaries are due does not understand the economy. Wages can’t grow faster than the GDP,” Vujadinovic said.  

Commenting the fact that the Financial Times has ranked Serbia 1st globally in terms of foreign direct investments, he said that only underdeveloped countries are on the index. “They only rank the most underdeveloped countries. We appeared in 1st place even though our economic results are not even close to our neighbors. We call ourselves leaders but our economic parameters take us to the back of the line,” he said.

Vujadinovic said that domestic investments are better than foreign investments for economic growth because there is always the possibility of all the profits being taken out of the country instead of being reinvested. “Potential domestic investors are being called tycoons and thieves while foreign investors are being met with cameras, hugs and primarily with huge subsidies which reached the level of 26,000 Euros per employee in some cases,” he said.