Title: The Impact of R&D Investment on Sustainable Economic Growth: A Comparison between European Union and Western Balkan Countries (BI-RS/23-25-050)
Head of the research group: prof. dr. Aleksander Aristovnik ( from 1. 7. 2023 to 30. 6. 2025)
The global economy is currently facing new challenges associated with globalization, digitalization, and the transition toward a knowledge-based economy. Hence, ever-greater emphasis is being placed on the research and development (R&D) investment since it is often recognized as one of the possible mechanisms for addressing contemporary economic challenges. The importance of R&D investment has been underlined in reform agendas on the global level (e.g. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development), priorities of the European Commission (e.g. European Green Deal) and strategies covering Western Balkan countries (e.g. The South East Europe 2030 Strategy), emphasizing smart, sustainable and inclusive growth as a way to overcome the structural weaknesses of the national economies, improve their and productivity and underpin a sustainable social market economy. The existing theoretical and empirical literature emphasizes that R&D investment is one of the most important drivers of innovation and productivity, positively affecting better economic performance. Nevertheless, the relationship between R&D investment and sustainable economic growth has not been sufficiently investigated, particularly in the Western Balkan countries. Therefore, the main question is whether the relationship between R&D investment and sustainable economic growth differs according to different development levels across countries. The Western Balkan region is a region that lies at the heart of Europe and is surrounded by the European Union (EU) countries. Due to its strategic geographic position, it is often considered a region of unfulfilled potential. Moreover, Serbia and other Western Balkan countries are characterized by political instability, commenced but uncompleted structural reforms and an unfavourable economic situation, contributing to their lagging behind Slovenia and other EU member states. Accordingly, the international differences between the EU (including Slovenia) and the Western Balkan countries (including Serbia) allow an interesting setting for a comparative analysis of the impact of R&D investment on sustainable economic growth. The proposed project has the following main aims: 1) to evaluate the role of R&D investment in the EU and Western Balkan countries; 2) to empirically analyze the impact of R&D investment on sustainable economic growth; and 3) to make a comparative analysis between the EU (including Slovenia) and Western Balkan countries (including Serbia) by considering the international differences.
Duration (from/to):
1. 7. 2023 – 30. 6. 2025
Contracting Authority:
Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
Project Partner:
University of Niš, Faculty of Economics
Financing:

Members of the research group:
prof. dr. Aleksander Aristovnik (vodja)
Members of the research group in the partner country:
prof. dr. Jadranka Đurović Todorović (vodja)
Objectives of bilateral cooperation activities
The collaboration of researchers from Slovenia and Serbia gives an in-depth insight into identifying similarities and differences regarding the impact of R&D investment on sustainable economic growth between the EU and Western Balkan countries. All researchers involved in the proposed project are experts in their corresponding fields. The main aims of collaboration are the following: 1) to combine the theoretical and empirical evaluation of the abovementioned research questions; 2) to establish a basis for future collaboration in research projects; and 3) to enhance or include collaboration between young scholars and experienced researchers. Considering comprehensive research and international differences between the EU (including Slovenia) and Western Balkan countries (including Serbia) , the collaboration with a partner institution is very important due to the lack of data, resources and region-specific knowledge. The research planned under the proposed project will be based on applying quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches. The realization of project-planned objectives will be carried out through different activities encompassing project meetings, exploring relevant literature, data collection, empirical analysis and presentation of the obtained results in the form of joint publications, as well as creating policy recommendations. By implementing project activities, the knowledge and competencies of both research teams will be increased.
Cooperation within this project will be used as a basis for future project joint applications for the EU funds. The proposed research will contribute in a systematic and comprehensive way to the general literature with new theoretical and empirical evidence. The empirical analysis will be embedded into a profound methodological and theoretical background. Since some issues regarding R&D investment remain unsettled, the obtained empirical evidence may help to illuminate certain ambiguities relating to this kind of investment, which is also expected to be one of the key investments in the future. The results of this research will contribute to academic and practical knowledge and will be useful and beneficial for different stakeholders. The findings of this research will be interesting, especially for policymakers in the EU and Western Balkan countries, since they will help them deepen the understanding of how R&D investment affects sustainable economic growth according to the development level in these two regions. Moreover, the findings will provide policymakers with possible solutions to narrow the enormous development gap between the EU and Western Balkan countries, which can help exploit the potential of R&D investment, especially in the Western Balkan region.