Croatia: Public Finance Review, Restructuring for Stability and Growth
Croatia: Public Finance Review, Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management Global Practice, Europe and Central Asia Region, IBRD, World Bank Croatia office, 2013
160 Pages Posted: 10 Jan 2015
Date Written: July 4, 2014
Abstract
On July 1, 2013, Croatia became the 28th member of the European Union. This achievement crowned more than a decade of macroeconomic and institutional reforms by the Croatian authorities and other stakeholders that yielded important development results. Croatia's institutions are now stronger than a decade ago, reflecting broad and deep institutional adjustment that underpinned the pre-accession process and Croatia has become a high-income country within a decade. Yet the global economic crisis exposed Croatia's macroeconomic vulnerabilities. The report analyzes three inter-related issues needed to strengthen macroeconomic stability, and lay the foundation for a robust recovery. First, it analyzes major fiscal weaknesses, risks and alternative fiscal scenarios. Second, it analyzes institutional weaknesses and requirements for the efficient use of EU funds. And third, it analyzes the structure of Croatia's public finances and provides policy options for short term expenditure controls and medium-term fiscal adjustment.
Keywords: Croatia, EU, European Union, public finance
JEL Classification: H1, H5, H6, O52
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation