One of the factors that characterize the different countries of the Balkan area is the level of corruption which, as often stressed by scholars, may significantly influence the economic growth of its countries. However, there is still no agreement on the sign of this effect: there are theoretical arguments and empirical results in favor of a positive correlation between corruption and growth, and there are also theoretical arguments and empirical results that support the opposite view. Comparing the short-term and long-term impacts can help to explain this contradiction. In this perspective, we propose an auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) methodology. This approach gives both short-run and long-run results simultaneously and it is robust with small samples. The results are not homogeneous for the eight countries covered by our study (Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey), but the following theoretical intuition is confirmed: although corruption could be seen as a factor that helps economic growth by speeding up the bureaucratic processing in the short run, conversely, in the long run, the social costs associated with corruption are considerable, making it difficult to sustain the political, economic, and social burdens, thus leading to a higher levels of corruption that negatively affect the economic growth. These results confirm certain aspects of Albert Hirschman’s ideas regarding private interests and public action.

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of years of education and life expectancy on the economic development of the Western Balkan Countries (Southeast Europe). Theoretical Framework: This study considers the impact of exogenous and endogenous theories of economic growth, with a particular focus on the role of human capital (human resources) in driving economic development. Method: We have proposed a panel data regression methodology in which the dependent variable is the GDP per capita. The countries analyzed are covered from 2012 to 2021 and the total number of observations in the panel is 50. This study used secondary data from the WorldBank databases. Findings: The results reveal a positive correlation between the Education Index and Labor Force Participation, while the Gross Enrollment Rate in Tertiary School and Life Expectancy show a negative correlation. Research Implications: The demographic, economic, and educational conditions in the Western Balkan countries required immediate action by policymakers to avoid a situation that cannot be sustained over the medium or long term. The governments of these nations must take action to shift the focus of higher education to a more qualitative approach.

Objective: In the first step, this paper aims to evaluate the tourism efficiency in East European Countries and later to identify factors that can determine the international tourism development in this European Region. Theoretical Framework: This study considers the impact of tourism demand on economic productivity (efficiency), with a particular focus on the role of sustainable tourism in driving economic development. Method: An input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis model with a constant return to scale was applied for 6 years from 2014 to 2019 focusing on 22 countries in the area (except Kosovo due to lack of data) to estimate efficiency scores for each country. In the second stage, a Tobit Regression Model was used to stress the role of some characteristic factors influencing the efficiency of the international tourism industry. Findings: This study points out the greater attention of public and private institutions toward sustainability tourism (SDG target 8.9) associated with some factors such as environmental pollution (SDG target 3.9), friendly environment urbanization (SDG 11), educational level of the population (SDG 4), and tourism seasonality. Research implications: The study indicates that most East European Countries run inefficiently. Productivity is low, and efficiency needs to be improved in terms of capital- and labor production implementing consistently sustainable development principles.

There is a huge debate in the economic literature on the role of public debt in the economic growth of a country. Ricardian economists think that public debt is simply a transfer of taxes over time, and as such it negatively affects the economic growth and well-being of a country. Keynesian economists, but not only, think that public debt that goes to finance innovation, technology, education, and productivity growth, has a positive impact on economic growth and the economic well-being of a country. Based on these facts, this paper evaluated the role of public debt in the economic growth of Albania during the last decade. Descriptive statistical analyzes were used for the realization of this study. The results of this paper suggest that public debt at moderate levels and in certain situations, such as the pandemic, has a positive impact on the country's economic growth. While public debt when it has high management costs or when it is used inefficiently, its costs are higher than the benefits, and its impact on economic growth is negative.

Reflections on the factors that influence the delocalization of Italian companies to other countries, arising from a rapidly changing world economy, offer invaluable insight into companies facing similar tough choices. Usually, this decision is attributed to economic, fiscal, and institutional factors. This article examines the process of delocalization of Italian enterprises and empirically verifies the main factors which influence the delocalization of Italian enterprises to East European Countries. The results suggest that “labor market regulation”, “business regulation”, and “size of government” or better said, the labor cost the host country, is the main incentive of Italian enterprises to delocalize their production. Empirical results also show that institutional factors such as “rule of law”, “control of corruption”, “political stability”, and “broadband infrastructure” have a positive and significant correlation with the delocalization of Italian enterprises to the East European Countries. The results in this case suggest that Italian companies are looking for an environment in which the state knows how to enforce their own rules, but also a state that is somewhat “corruptible”.

This paper explores the evolving relationship between energy consumption, economic activity, and carbon emissions in Southeast European countries over the period 2000–2024. Using a dynamic panel framework, the analysis focuses primarily on short-run interactions, given the lack of evidence for a stable long-term equilibrium. The findings reveal that changes in energy consumption remain the main driver of fluctuations in CO₂ emissions, confirming the carbon-intensive nature of energy use across the region. In contrast, economic growth and industrial production do not show a statistically significant direct effect on emissions in the short term. Renewable energy plays a mitigating role, although its impact becomes more visible only when cross-country interdependencies are taken into account. This suggests that regional factors, such as shared policies and energy market shocks, shape environmental outcomes. Overall, the results indicate that emissions are influenced more by immediate changes in energy use than by persistent dynamics, highlighting the ongoing challenge of reducing environmental pressure without fundamentally transforming the energy structure.