The impact of Brexit on Serbia not necessarily negative

Brexit doesn't necessarily need to have a negative impact on the economy of the EU nor on the economies of small countries, like Serbia, whose main trading partner is the EU, stated the director of the Free Market Institute at the Texas Tech University, Benjamin Powell, and added that Serbia might also step up its economic growth through increasing economic freedoms.

According to him, the projections which say that Brexit will impact an individual country's economy are not economic, but political in nature.

Small countries like Serbia might benefit if Britain adopted a liberal trade policy towards them, no matter what the British relations with the EU will be in the coming period, Powell stated.

– I believe that one of the greatest challenges for Serbia is how to develop its economy, that is, how to honor the private property rights, agreements and laws more and how to achieve a greater degree of respect for economic freedoms. Serbia is 101th country in the world regarding economic freedoms – he said.

He added that all former Yugoslavian countries except Slovenia are carrying out reforms which entail strict honoring of agreements, protection of private property, liberalization of labor market, so everything thatfree economy entails may help Serbia to achieve economic growth regardless of events in Great Britain or the EU.

– Serbia can achieve the growth the same way any other country in the world can, by honoring the rule of law, guaranteeing economic freedoms and private property – he pointed out.

Powell added that it could easily be seen that all countries that honored those principles were rich and prosperous, whereas those which lacked economic freedoms were poor and economically stagnant.

Brexit

Benjamin Powell

Free Market Institute at the Texas Tech University

economic freedoms

economic growth