Europe's Troubled Region

"The countries of the Western Balkans - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and the province of Kosovo - form a core European region. The region is known for its instability and recent history of wars and civil conflicts, but far less is known about the changes that have taken place in the economic and social welfare systems and the dynamic processes of transition, development and European integration that have been taking place over the last twenty years." "Although economic growth has been firmly established, many problems remain in relation to the labour markets where there is high unemployment, large informal economies and widespread poverty. This book discusses the role of welfare reforms, international aid and European integration in addressing these difficulties. The author argues that the resistance to reforms which were initiated under the communist system in former Yugoslavia led to the break-up of the country but that since then a group of early reforming countries have made fast progress in institutional reform and have been at the forefront of EU integration."--BOOK JACKET.