FREN and USAID launch the 20th issue of the Quarterly Economic Monitor
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| Incumbent Governor of the National Bank of Serbia Radovan Jelašic addresses the audience. |
On Friday, June 11, the Foundation for the Advancement of Economics (FREN) and USAID presented the 20th issue of the Quarterly Monitor of Economic Trends and Policies in Serbia covering the first Quarter of 2010, at the Economics Faculty. Prof. Pavle Petrović, QM Editor-in-Chief, announced the main findings and opened the floor for a discussion about current challenges of the economic policy in Serbia that was attended by a number of special guests including Radovan Jelašić, the Incumbent Governor of the National Bank of Serbia, Dejan Šoškić, National Bank of Serbia Council Chairman, and Bogdan Lissovolik, IMF Resident Representative in Serbia.
USAID has been providing support for the publishing of the Quarterly Monitor since September 2006, when it was produced by the Center for Advanced Economic Studies (CEVES) founded by Ms. Kori Udovicki. In June 2008, CEVES and FREN agreed to transfer the responsibility for the Quarterly Monitor’s production to FREN.
USAID’s assistance provided through its Economic Growth program for producing and publishing the Quarterly Monitor totals $830,000 for 16 issues published over the past four years.
During this period the QM has become an important and widely recognized source of macroeconomic research and a respected repository of data and analyses performed for the monitoring of Serbia’s economy. Government institutions recognize the QM as a viable entity in policy deliberations. One example is the closed-door quarterly presentations of QM conducted by FREN staff for the NBS senior officials. Another example is the involvement of the QM team in advising the Government on fiscal rules, tax policy, labor market and other issues. The QM has also improved the quality of the discussions held during the Government decision making regarding the macroeconomic and fiscal policies.
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| Director of USAID’s Economic Growth Office Jim Stein speaks to conference participants. |
“It is the Serbian Government’s need for quality research that led USAID to support FREN and the Quarterly Monitor. Our support relies on the United States Government’s strong belief that policy decisions in a democratic society need to benefit from evidence-based research. Independent think tanks like FREN produce such research, and the Quarterly Monitor is a vehicle for reaching stakeholders within and outside the Government of Serbia, as well as for providing interested parties and stakeholders with a reliable source of economic data which can be used in shaping and discussing public policy” said James Stein, USAID’s Acting Mission Director.
The IMF Country Representative Bogdan Lissovolik noted that “The Quarterly Monitor has high credibility with outsiders and it covers a lot of issues that are of crucial importance for the Serbian economy”. The nominee for the next Governor of National bank of Serbia Dejan Soskic added that “The Monitor has become THE reference document for the latest macroeconomic trends in Serbia”. Representatives of USAID, other donors and international financial institutions unanimously agreed that the Quarterly Monitor provides valuable, independent and objective research and analysis focused on the Serbian economy, and that in fact, frequently, the issues researched through the Quarterly Monitor help shape and focus the technical assistance provided to Serbia and its institutions by the donor community and by international financial institutions.
To read the latest issue of the Quarterly Monitor please click here http://www.fren.org.rs/index.php?lang=en
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