Foreword

OECD Multidimensional Reviews (MDR) provide governments with concrete policy advice for their development strategies. They identify the main constraints to more equitable and sustainable growth, and propose priorities for policy intervention.

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo1, North Macedonia and Serbia participated in the Western Balkans MDR process, which produced two reports: Assessing Opportunities and Constraints, which covers the diagnostic phase and was published in June 2021, and the present report From Analysis to Action.2

The former provided a comprehensive analysis of the region across the five pillars of inclusive and sustainable development: people, prosperity, partnership and financing, peace and institutions, and planet. It identified nine strategic priorities shared across the region.

This second report focuses on the top three of these priorities: education and competencies, social cohesion, and a green recovery. The report combines in-depth analysis of policy options with the results of an extensive peer-learning process, based on the “Governmental Learning Spiral” methodology and involving actors from the private and public sectors, civil society, and academia. It aims at the co-creation of reforms that respond to the region’s specific challenges and opportunities, and comes with guidance on implementation. Its suggestions and recommendations can serve as inputs for development strategies and plans, and inform the support provided by the region’s many co-operation partners.

A multidisciplinary effort, this report combines economic, social, statistical, environmental and institutional expertise from across the OECD. It was prepared in close collaboration with the governments from the Western Balkans and with the financial support of the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency.

← 1. This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/99 and the Opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo’s declaration of independence.

← 2. In addition to the economies covered by this project, the Western Balkan region also includes Montenegro. Depending on data availability, Montenegro is included in the benchmarking analysis throughout the report and contained in calculated averages for the region.

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