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Key international and intergovernmental organizations assess the size of the Roma population in Serbia to be around 4–600.000, rendering Serbia among the five countries in Europe with the highest percentage of Roma population. Although Roma in Serbia have a long history of self-organization, cultural and media organizations, and are formally recognized as national minorities with a National Council of the Roma National Minority as a body with political decision-making influence, the Roma community in Serbia, as in most other European countries, is the most disadvantaged and underprivileged group in the country, often living in underdeveloped neighbourhoods with limited access to social services, especially education and health.

The educational attainment of the Roma population in Serbia, as in other countries in Europe, is far below the attainment of the general population. The education indicators are showing a developing trend, albeit slow. Roma integration policies evolved in Serbia from the early 2000s in the general policy framework of Equity of Education and Inclusive Education and a comprehensive education reform agenda, promoted and legally endorsed by the 2009 Law on the Foundations of the Education System. As the consequence of such an approach, the Roma integration policies intertwined and mutually reinforced with other reform policy areas. The most important post-2000 policies supporting the integration of Roma students into education are the introduction of pedagogical assistants in elementary schools and preschool institutions as a profession, paid from the budget, abolishing the system of school readiness assessment, introducing individual education plans and intensifying affirmative action and scholarships for enrolment in secondary and tertiary education.

Serbian Generation Z originates from South-east Europe. They are a part of a nation that has always been divided between the East and the West and has experienced a constant transition (economic, cultural and political) for the last couple of decades. In Serbia, Generation Z has been under the same influences as elsewhere in the world – globalisation, technology and rapid development of the Internet have greatly influenced it and it could be said that the influence has not ceased to exist. Nevertheless, apart from the aforementioned, the representatives of the Generation Z in Serbia have faced some additional challenges during their childhood, and this distinguishes them from all the other European representatives of this generation: family (still being the backbone of Serbian society), religion, wars and their collective memory of it, as well as economy-related turbulences. The research presented in this chapter was carried out with a goal to show the attitudes, opinions and characteristics of this generation. The chapter provides not only an insight into the mentioned phenomena but also some recommendations for parents, teachers, companies and politicians, as well as suggestions for future research.

The main aim of this chapter is to systematize observations regarding changes in entrepreneurship in Serbia during the previous decade, having in mind some key factors such as high-impact low-probability (HILP) events, dynamic development in the sphere of information technologies (IT), and foreign direct investments (FDI). The choice of these factors was made in accordance with the fact that there were no significant changes in other external factors in the sphere of entrepreneurship (regulatory framework, financial conditions, and socio-political instability). This chapter discusses the assumptions that HILP events and FDI can have both positive and negative impacts on individual sectors or agglomerations of entrepreneurship, while only positive impacts are attributed to IT development. Using official databases and annual financial and business reports given by entrepreneurial agencies and micro and small enterprises we created a set of reports that indicate the strength and direction of the influence of the mentioned factors and their consequences in the sphere of entrepreneurship at the level of Serbia and selected cities, based on the fact that the entrepreneurial ecosystem in those cities faced greater than average challenges. The selected ratios indicate changes in the growth rate of the entrepreneurship sector (number of entrepreneurs and employees) as well as in the improvement of its competitiveness (productivity, assets, and profit per employee).

The chapter aims to explore the size and evolution of spatial inequality in Croatia and Serbia with emphasis on labour market developments. The analysis focuses on municipalities (LAU 2 level) in both countries to explore patterns of change in the labour market. We estimate spatial inequality based on the distribution of population, employment, unemployment rates, and wages. We find that regions with major cities in both countries are leading in the recovery from the recent recession, while rural areas are lagging behind. Further, there is a durable trend of both population and job concentration in the capital city area, or in urban areas generally.

The study deals with key questions of Serbia’s economic development, including the regularities of transforming self-managed socialism to a standard capitalist system. It is based on the concept of endogenous growth and the general theory of market transition. In the empirical part of investigation, the main directions of economic development and transition in Serbia are analysed. Crucial issues of economic policy are also considered with a particular emphasis on the latest phase of transition. Concerning the problems of economic efficiency, an attempt is made to quantify the various types of technical progress and determine their contribution to its overall rate. The macroeconomic role of external factors is quantitatively shown through a globalisation effect related to inflows of FDI. The author believes that the Serbian economy, despite all its problems and difficulties, in principle has the potential necessary for finding adequate answers to the challenges of ‘neo-transition’. Of these challenges, he regards as most serious Serbia’s ability to comply with the standards of accession to the European Union, which, among others, requires closer regional cooperation.

This chapter explains the interrelationships between trade markets of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia, which have experienced the same political, economical, and social changes due to their postwar market orientation. Particularly, the research is focused on the relationships between retailers and their suppliers, the effects of 2008 financial crisis, and changes in customer behavior on those markets.

The chapter builds upon the investigation of the existing literature on trade in selected Southeast European (SEE) countries targeting three time-periods: planned economy era; period after the launch of the economic transition; and the European Union (EU) accession preparation era. The supporting fieldwork is based on qualitative interviews with senior managers in trade companies operating on all investigated markets. Results are compared with other secondary data sources.

The research has contributed to the understanding of similarities and differences on three markets of former Yugoslavia: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. Four areas are used as a framework for explaining the level of cooperation and interdependence between trade companies on investigated markets: changes in retail forms, growth in retail operations, increasing importance of the relationships with suppliers, and penetration of private labels.

Results of the study provides some directions for suppliers on the selected markets and for retailers as well. As retailers rely on their key suppliers, local suppliers should offer them elements of differentiation. On the other hand, results give an insight into actual situation on the markets of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia regarding retail structure, number of retail forms, private labels, etc.

Considering an extensive literature review, the analysis of data given in official statistical databases, as well as qualitative study among trade managers, these findings have important managerial implications for retailers and suppliers.

Today tourism is recognised as a very complex social and economic phenomenon having a spatial, socio-cultural, economic, political, educational and environmental dimension. Furthermore, tourismis transformingtowards an individual and his/her needs, desires and interests, with a full respect for the surroundings and environment, which are given an increasing importance. Consequently, there have been changes not only in the structure of tourist consumption and in the behaviour of tourists, but also in the concept of a tourist offer. In this sense, numerous forms of special interest tourism are increasingly being developed in response to the needs of modern tourists to experience something new, authentic and different from their everyday environment. Tourists, saturated with the global trends' consequences that dominantly foster a kind of uniformity on their trips, are increasingly looking for the uniqueness or experience that is different from their own culture. Gastronomy, as a part of the local community's cultural identity, stood out as an authentic element of the tourist destination's offer, to which tourists are increasingly paying attention, which is increasingly becoming the basic motive of travelling for modern tourists.

Taking into account the current trends of the leading global source markets of the world, as well as the growing need to create a common tourist offer of the Western Balkan economies, this concept of Mountain Breakfast applied in the Western Serbia Region could represent a good example and a platform for connecting tradition, local producers, gastronomy and tourism.

The paper examines the overall results achieved in the area of privatization in Serbia, as the largest part of the Serbian-Montenegrin economy. The privatization process in Serbia during the 1990s is described in some detail, including the various pieces of privatization legislation (adopted in 1989–1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997), and the overall results achieved, which have been extremely poor: by late 2000, less than 40% of the country’s Gross Material Product was produced by the private sector. The main problems of corporate governance are also discussed in some detail, having in mind the specific situation in Serbia characterized by the maintenance of the ambiguous system of “social property.” The most recent privatization phase started after the political changes in late 2000, and marked a fundamental change in the approach, away from sales at privileged terms to insiders implemented throughout the 1990s, towards commercial sales to strategic owners, at tenders and auctions. The main achievements and shortcomings of the new strategy are discussed.

In the late 1990s, the tourism in Serbia had been developing spontaneously, supported by the policy of undifferentiated marketing. That kind of approach to tourism development led to unsatisfying results, which is a notion primarily based on Serbia’s obvious natural and social resources. An alternative to this approach to tourism development is the differentiated marketing strategy focusing on relevant market segments called “targets.” That way, it would be possible to commercially valorize a significant number of resources (natural and social) as well as a large number of touristic products.

Due to current trends in the international tourism market – moving away from the concept of mass tourism (holiday at the seaside and “ski resorts”), i.e., the ongoing diversification of tourism products, there is undoubtedly more potential for new tourism development trends. The increasing investment in tourism development of the Danube basin, with a larger number of potential tourist products, is expected to make it more attractive to the tourist market. This should have positive effects on the overall development of tourism in Serbia.

This chapter focuses primarily on the research of the Upper Danube region. It will show the importance of the natural and social (anthropogenic) resources suitable for the development of tourism in this area. Special attention shall be paid to the concept of sustainable tourism development, which develops tourism in accordance with the interests of all stakeholders. The positive interaction between all interest groups creates the conditions that ensure satisfaction of all stakeholders and general welfare.

Geographical mobility is often considered fundamental to a well-functioning labour market, and thus to the economy as a whole. Typically, geographical mobility can be achieved either through commuting or through migration. Commuting can be considered important for households to have access to job market opportunities and for business to access labour, skills and competencies. Previous research has found commuting patterns to differ between men and women, for example, in the sense that women travel shorter distances and rely more on public transport. However, we also know that factors such as higher education can influence an individual’s decision to commute, possibly because of specialization and a higher salary. As women’s education level approaches, or surpasses, that of men’s, one would expect to see more similarities between the travel behaviour of the two genders. In this study, we analyse gender patterns of commuting in Norway, Serbia and Sweden. We specifically address the issue of gender gap in commuting. Findings show that though there are signs of convergence, there are large regional variations. The gender gap is decreasing primarily in the more urban regions, while it is decreasing less, and even increasing, given the various levels of aggregation, in the more rural areas.