Openness of the economy as a determinant of economic growth: The panel analysis of the Western Balkans region countries

The openness of the economy and its intensive involvement in international trade and economic flows has an important role in stimulating economic growth and development of a national economy. The aim of the research is to determine the degree of impact and effects of exports, imports and foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth. The applied research methodology is a panel regression analysis on the example of six countries in the Western Balkans region in the period from 2000 to 2018. Three hypotheses were tested in this paper. H1: Exports have a positive effect on economic growth; H2: Imports contribute to GDP growth; H3: FDI has a positive impact on economic growth. The results show that all three variables have a positive, statistically significant impact on GDP. The greatest effect on economic growth in the analyzed sample has exports, which implies the conclusion of the inevitability of more intensive participation of these economies in international trade flows.

Expatriation of athletes and the theory of intercultural adjustment

Cultural shock may be one of the greatest difficulties encountered by athletes and employees who choose to live and work in other countries. Therefore, the objective of this essay was to conceptualize the theory of intercultural adjustment and to point out proposals for the use of theory in the process of sports expatriation. For this, it was based on the methodological design of a qualitative research on the perspective of documentary analysis. As main reflections of this essay, the lack of an adequate cultural adjustment process for athletes and employees who are subject to living in another country is emphasized, in addition to the importance of the family in this process. Therefore, it also highlights the relevance that expatriates are submitted to a preparation process, either by psychological, social, economic and cultural bias, so that changes are faced in the best possible way, highlighting the importance of Intercultural Psychology.

Organic agricultural production in the function of sustainable development of the municipality of Štrpce

Due to favourable natural conditions, the inhabitants of the municipality of Štrpce were engaged in agriculture, livestock breeding and fruit growing for decades. Although to a lesser extent, interest in agriculture is still present today, with slight variations in the type of crops being grown. In recent years, there has been an expansion of raspberry growing and beekeeping, segments that have proven to be extremely profitable. The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of agriculture in the overall sustainable economic development of the municipality of Štrpce and inhabitants individually. Based on the field research, the authors will suggest improvement of this industry, especially in the field of organic production. If the predictions are true, this will be crucial for the existence and well-being of people in this region.

Digital economy: Basic aspects and the case of Serbia

The global economy, strong competition, changing the nature of the workforce and consumer sophistication have influenced the need to transform the traditional economy into a digital economy, as a new phenomenon that permeates almost all economic and social processes in one society. The aim of the research is to point out the nature and characteristics of the digital economy, as well as its achieved level of development in the Republic of Serbia. The digital economy, showing its global nature, "leaked" to us, and the very process of digitization by the government was set as one of the three pillars of Serbia's development (in addition to economic growth and education). Using case-study method we found that Serbia is still very far from a massive digital lifestyle. Engaging in an ambitious regulatory reform process in the field of telecommunications: all digital services, applications and content depend on the availability of fast and secure infrastructure.

Climate changes: Economic impact and implication

Climate changes nowadays present a topic of huge importance taking into account its influence on conducting monetary and fiscal policy, achieving and improving financial stability, but also it is a concern for regulators and supervisors. In order to have an appropriate reaction, it is necessary to identify risk from climate changes in a timely manner. Three categories of climate-related risks can be identified: 1) physical risks which are associated with more frequent severe weather events and permanent changes in the environment, 2) transition risks that represent the policies and technological changes needed to achieve a greener economy and 3) liability risk which represents the impacts that could arise tomorrow if parties who have suffered loss or damage from the effects of climate change seek compensation from those they hold responsible. As a way to achieve satisfactory results in the fight against climate change risks, the financial institutions developed climate change risk management approaches, which include a variety of methods and instruments. The aim of this paper is the presentation of impact and implication regarding climate change regulations, identification of the risks and its management approaches, as well as economic cost and proposals for future action.

Behavioral models of irrational decision-making in the financial market

The decision-making process within financial management requires continuous study and analysis. Classical theory is based on the decision-making process on the hypothesis of market efficiency on rational decision-making that brings effects that can be estimated by the law of probability. Rationality in the decision-making process is always classified as expected behavior. However, in practice, human behavior is not always rational and that is why it is the subject of continuous research. It means getting acquainted with human behavior, what they do, why they do something and what are the consequences of their work. In that sense, in relation to financial management and the decision-making process, a special discipline stands out, behavioral finance, which deals with the study of this process, irrationality in decision-making or the study of inadequate use of all relevant data that could affect rational decision-making.

Excessive self-confidence: The initiator of the irrational in behavioral finance

The classical theory of financial markets is based on the decision-making process based on hypotheses about "market efficiency", which implies rational decisionmaking that always brings the expected results that can be predicted and calculated. However, practice shows that there are situations of irrational decision-making in the markets, the results of which are far from predictable and expected. We need to study these situations through Behavioral Finance, which allows us to monitor the results of irrational decision-making behavior, which we call anomalies. Most irrational decisions are based on excessive self-confidence, so it is the subject of necessary continuous research in order to clarify this segment of irrational behavior in the behavior of actors in the financial market and thus use it to achieve optimal effects.

Foreign trade of agricultural products between Serbia and the European Union: Problems and perspectives

The aim of this paper is to analyse trade relations between Serbia and the European Union, from the perspective of trade in agricultural products. An overview of the changes in the economic structure of Serbia, which resulted from the transition to a system of market economy and in which agriculture gained greater developmental significance than it had in the previous period, represents the starting point of the analysis. The trade of agricultural products between Serbia and the EU countries has been on an upward trend since the beginning of the century, and Serbia has achieved a positive balance in that trade. However, the structure of Serbian export points to a problem of low export competitiveness. This problem could be overcome by acting gradually on various segments of production, trade and promotion of agricultural products, which the authors of the paper define in the form of a proposal. Trade in agricultural products between Serbia and the EU is part of their overall economic relations and contributes to the process of Serbia's integration into the EU, so positive trends related to this aspect of their relations can be expected in the future.

Expatriation athletes in Soccer and Volleyball: The state of the art

The number of athletes acting outside their countries of birth grows every year, as do those who also choose to defend another national team. Faced with this phenomenon, the objective of this study was to conceptualize the process of expatriation in two sports (Soccer and Volleyball) through an essay, in which qualitative research was used from the perspective of documentary analysis, pointing out the state of the art in this subject. The results indicate that the main reasons given by athletes to justify the expatriation process are economic and professional, such as salary and career opportunities improvement. On the other hand, the difficulties found by athletes in the process are closely related to the lack of family with the athlete after expatriation. With this, the literature points to the need for multidisciplinary preparation and monitoring for those who decide to leave their country, to avoid damages in sports performance.

Transformation of the Serbian banking system: Twenty years later

The aim of this paper is to present the changes that have occurred in the banking sector of Serbia after the beginning of its transformation, with special emphasis to the last decade of development. Twenty years after the beginning of the transformation, the fundamental features of the system are consolidation, foreign ownership, increases of all banking aggregates measured by absolute values, primarily assets, capital, deposits and loans. Also, a trend of growth in profitability, liquidity and capital adequacy of the sector was recorded. Along with the decrease in the number of banks, the ownership structure changed to predominantly foreign capital, but the degree of concentration did not change drastically. However, the share of the first 5 banks in total assets was constantly above 50%, which indicates the fact that the banking sector of Serbia is extremely fragmented, because there is a significant number of banks with a market share below 2%.