The Report "Life in Transition: After the Crisis (2011)" is a joint project of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the World Bank aimed at investigating the impact of the economic crisis on households in the EBRD countries of operation. Based on the survey of more than 39,000 individuals and households conducted across the EBRD transition region, in 34 countries from Central Europe to Central Asia, as well as in a selected group of Western European countries, the Report provides vivid evidence of how lives have been affected by the global economic crisis and its aftermath, all against the backdrop of the two decades of social, political and economic transition after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. This is the second survey of its kind, after an initial Life in Transition Survey carried out in 2006, and it was hence conducted in a dramatically changed economic environment, with most countries still facing the aftershocks of the crisis.
The section of the survey conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina was financed by the Central European Initiative (CEI) Fund at the EBRD, funded by Italy. Among the key findings of the Report, the analysis found that the crisis affected more than 60% of households in Bosnia and Herzegovina, significantly more than average rate in Western Europe (31%) and in the overall EBRD transition region (49%). The Report underlined the difficulties of the country in 2011, especially as far as the stalemate of progress towards the EU approximation was concerned. Notwithstanding the general stabilization of economy, business environment conditions remain difficult. As underlined by Peter Sanfey, Deputy Director of Country Strategy and Policy at the EBRD, among the main challenges for BiH still remain the advancing of the EU process and the acceleration of privatisation.
Life satisfaction in BiH remains low: less than one–third of respondents declared to be satisfied with life, against an average of 43% for the EBRD transition region. However, the survey showed that satisfaction for life has risen marginally across all age and income groups and is higher among younger people and upper-income groups. The picture emerged from the report which described how support for democracy and market economy resulted rather limited after the crisis in the country. Nevertheless, there has been a significant increase in trust over the past four years. The Report also indicates that the country would benefit from policies to support female entrepreneurs, and for a more “business-oriented” education.
The official presentation of the Report held last week in Sarajevo and Banja Luka was organised by the Office for the CEI Fund at the EBRD, in cooperation with the Office of the Chief Economist at the EBRD and with the EBRD Office in Sarajevo, and under the auspices of the Italian Embassy in Sarajevo. The event was attended by representatives of the BiH Government, of EU embassies and international organisations and institutions accredited in the country, as well as the CEI Deputy National Coordinator for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Igor Babic.
The CEI Fund at the EBRD – as recalled by the CEI Fund Programme Manager, Guido Paolucci – has committed so far 20.4 million Euro of Technical Cooperation Projects (TCs) in the region, especially targeting the Western Balkans. Bosnia and Herzegovina, with more than 1.9 million Euro of TCs, is in absolute terms one of the main recipients of the CEI Fund.
The historical cooperation between EBRD and the CEI is an asset for regional cooperation and for the social and economic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina - as underlined by the Italian Ambassador Raimondo De Cardona.
The next EBRD/CEI presentation of the Report Life in Transition: After the Crisis will be held in Tirana, Albania, on 18 April 2012. The survey carried out in Albania, as well as the one held in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was financed by the CEI Fund at the EBRD.
Download presentations:
Projects and Activities supported by the CEI Fund at the EBRD
By Guido Paolucci, CEI Programme Manager, EBRD
EBRD in Bosnia and Herzegovina
By Libor Krkoska, EBRD Resident Office, Sarajevo, BiH
Transition Report 2011. Crisis and Transition: The People’s Perspective
By Peter Sanfey, Deputy Director, Country Strategy and Policy. EBRD
For information: mameli@cei-es.org