Poverty and Exclusion in the Western Balkans

Sara Savastano is an Assistant Professor in Economics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata – Italy. In addition to her academic activities she collaborates with the Development Research Group of the World Bank, the FAO, and other international organizations and private institutions. Her research spans from option value theory and investment analysis to agricultural efficiency and productivity analysis, on which she published a number of papers, including on the Western Balkans. Recently, Sara started to explore innovative topics in Neuroeconomics and Behavioral Economics. Caterina Ruggeri Laderchi is a Senior Poverty Economist in the Europe and Central Asia division of the World Bank. Prior to joining the World Bank she worked on poverty, employment and social issues for the Human Development Report Office of UNDP, DFID and the European Commission. Her research has mostly focused on the measurement of alternative concepts of poverty and deprivation, labour market analysis in low income settings, and the distributional and gender impacts of reforms, particularly tariff reforms.

• 1. Poverty and exclusion in the Western Balkans: new directions in policy and analysis.- 2. The European context: measuring social inclusion in the European Union.- 3. Recent trends in measurement of poverty and exclusion in Western Balkans.- 4. Qualitative research to support the analysis of social inclusion in the Western Balkans.- 5. Further Updating Poverty Mapping: the case of Albania.- 6. Insights from material deprivation indicators in Bosnia Herzegovina.- 7. Measuring Social Inclusion in Serbia and in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.- 8. Measuring Subjective Well-Being of Social Assistance Recipients in Serbia.- 9. Exclusion from  formal jobs  in the Western Balkans – the  role of labor taxes and social benefits.- 10. Not Just Education: Gender Wage Gap in the  Albanian Labor Market Through Occupational Segregation, Work Experience, and Child Care.- 11. How has internal migration in Albania affected the receipt of transfers from family and friends?.- 12. Together or Apart: Exploring Attitudes Towards Ethnic Cohabitation in Post-Independence Kosovo.- 13. Social Safety Nets in the Western Balkans: Design, Implementation and Performance.- 14. The Political Economy of Welfare Reform in the Western Balkans.- 15. Simulating distributional and poverty outcomes of the new law on social welfare in Serbia.- 16. Improving the Targeting of Social Assistance in Albania: evidence from micro-simulations​.