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In recent decades, there has been a trend in increasing the level of independence of central banks. The key factor that has contributed to a growing interest in this concept is grounded in economic theory that confirms the link between a lower inflation rate and a greater level of central bank independence. For this reason, in many countries, the existing regulations relating to central bank have been modified to protect its position from the absolute influence of the executive power of the state. This trend was particularly prevalent in transition countries, which was conditioned primarily by the EU accession criteria. The aim of this paper is to analyse independence of the Central Bank of Montenegro through the prism of functional, institutional, financial, and personal independence, and to assess the level of its legal independence by using appropriate indices.

Abstract:The EXtensible Business Reporting Language -XBRL appeared in the beginning of the 21 st century and it represents one of the most important technological innovations in financial reporting, collecting and exchanging data since the introduction of electronic spreadsheets. However, although the XBRL standard is globally accepted, and it has been proved to be a standard sui generis, the implementation of the standard has not yet become a reality in Montenegro and the region. In this context, the goal of this article is to evaluate a new and, for our conditions unexplored, area from the point of application of modern methods of accounting theory and practice, highlighting both positive and negative aspects. This research is getting prominence having in mind that the EU integration process which Montenegro has already started would affect all areas of socioeconomic life and development, especially in terms of accounting practices harmonization.

The aim of this paper is to examine the determinants of healthcare expenditure in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries. The study covers the period between the years 2000 and 2018. In our research, we implement error correction based on an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, with focus on the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimator. Our estimation results revealed that, in combination, health spending, income, medical progress, population ageing and fiscal capacity together form a statistically significant and stable long-term economic relationship. Our analysis indicates that healthcare spending responds to both short-term and long-term income changes. The obtained results support the prevailing view that health should not be considered a luxury good with an income elasticity close to unity. In the long term, medical progress and population ageing also significantly influence health spending, whilst these variables prove to be insignificant over the short term. Ultimately, government capacity is positively related to health spending dynamics.

The paper employs a form of the panel ARDL-based error correction model (ECM) to explore the short-run and long-run relationship between public debt (and certain macroeconomic variables) and economic growth in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. It covers the period 2006Q1−2018Q4. The results indicate both short-term and long-term causality (except for financial development), though the marginal effects are variable-specific. There is a negative effect of public debt, interest rate and exchange rate on growth, whereas the saving rate, trade openness, financial development, fixed capital formation and population growth contribute to economic development. Thus, a responsible and saving-oriented fiscal policy, coupled with higher private sector investment, an exportoriented private sector and undervalued real exchange rate, and population growth would contribute to economic development in CEE countries.

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The European Union's actions in the western Balkans region is guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation, development and enlargement. Nevertheless, the countries of the region area are still impatiently waiting for a confirmation of the Thessaloniki Agenda conclusions in the new Enlargement Strategy for 2010/2011, which will have a strong impact on the region's further integration dynamic. There is a unique stance among all the countries of the region that it is necessary to lobby for a faster integration track, requiring all potential candidate countries promptly to understand the manners and rules of functioning of the complex EU system. In that sense, western Balkan countries have, to different extents, developed lobbying networks. Each country needs to create the institutional set up for lobbying, registers of professional lobbyists and codes of conduct for lobbyists, with a full understanding of the relevant machinery of decision-making, which will help them to influence the process concerning the enlargement dynamic.

Resource efficiency means management and use of limited resources in a sustainable manner, whilst minimizing negative impact on environment. Sustainable management of resources assumes monitoring of whole process, from resources extraction, transport, transformation and consumption, to the disposal of waste. In plainer words, it means finding ways of producing more with fewer inputs and less impact and consuming differently, to limit the risks of scarcity or pollution. Moving towards a growth path which will have the dual benefit of stimulating the growth needed to provide jobs and wellbeing for its citizens and of ensuring that the quality of this growth leads to a sustainable future, will require the country to tackle these challenges and turn them into opportunities. Preparing the Montenegrin economy for this transformation in a timely, predictable and controlled manner, will enable it to further develop its wealth and wellbeing, whilst reducing the levels and impact of its resource use. Ensuring a sustainable development path in Montenegro would mean gradual transition towards achievement of European targets, competitiveness, permanent decoupling of economic growth from the use of resources and environmental impacts and keeping the promise to be an ecological state. The research in this paper is a partial outcome of the UNDP project Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Human Development. The scenario of the future use of natural resources in Montenegro, presented in this paper, is a pioneering attempt to assess its resource productivity (RP), which may serve as a rough illustration of the degree of efficiency in the use of natural resources in the national economy. As such, they may serve as the basis for policy directions and for fostering discussion on this issue which is important for future socio-economic profile of Montenegro.