Foreign Direct Investment in Former Yugoslavia: A Comparative Economic Geography 25 Years Later

Approximately one quarter century since the outset of transition in Yugoslavia’s successor states, this volume advances scholarly understanding of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region by bringing together in a single volume scholarly expertise from across the former federal republic. Chapter 1 provides an introductory comparative overview for the seven geographic entities, including Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Kosovo, then summarizes some key papers in the theoretical and empirical literature on FDI to the region. In the following seven chapters, the contributing scholars examine the temporal dynamics, national origins, and location choices of investors from abroad over the past 25 years, following John Dunning’s (1980) eclectic approach as a general discussion framework. They highlight origins, mode of entry, industrial composition, and other features of context-specific relevance. They then clarify the major trends in FDI in their respective countries, as well as prospects for future FDI inflows. Each contributed chapter concludes with a discussion of the outlook for FDI with regard to economic growth projections, EU integration expectations, and other country-specific insights by the authors. The final chapter sums up geographic trends in FDI across the region based upon the authors’ contributions. Our volume concludes by speculating on prospects for FDI considering recent trends, subject to unpredictable events such as international conflict, the Global Financial Crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic.The chapters in this book are organized in order of cumulative FDI value as of 2018: Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. This interdisciplinary and international author team was in order to provide the first comprehensive scholarly volume on the economic geography of FDI flows to the former Yugoslavia. Contributing authors include scholars from across former Yugoslavia, representing the faculties of some of the region’s most prestigious academic institutions. The Serbian authors include Ivan Ratkaj, Mikica Sibinović, and Emilija Manić at the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Geography. The Croatian team, from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Economics and Business, is composed of Josip Tica, Tomislav Globan, and Marin Levaj. Simon Kušar in the Department of Geography at the University of Ljubljana contributes our chapter on Slovenia. Bosnian authors include Almir Peštek, Lejla Lazovic, and Ademir Abdic at the University of Sarajevo’s School of Economics and Business. The North Macedonian team is composed of Rufi Osmani and Lorik Ahmeti at Southeast European University. FDI insights from Montenegro are contributed by Danijela Jacimovic in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Montenegro, along with her research assistant Sunčica Rogic and Maja Ivanovic (Central Bank of Montenegro). The chapter on Kosovo was developed by an international team of Kyle Conahan of James Madison University, Besnik Krasniqi from the University of Pristina, Florin Peci from University Haxhi Zeka, and the editor of this volume.