The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has added a Macroeconomic Imbalances Report to its flagship analytical publications and has been issuing it as a regular annual report since 2024. The report is designed to assess the domestic economy through the lens of risks from internal and external imbalances, rather than focusing only on trends in key macroeconomic variables. The framework draws on the European Union’s macroeconomic imbalances procedures, which monitor fourteen indicators covering external imbalances and competitiveness, internal imbalances, and labour market imbalances, complemented by additional indicators and reference values. Although EU candidate countries are not required to report against these indicators, the CBBH publishes the report to share its assessment of domestic risks while cautioning against direct comparisons with EU economies given Bosnia and Herzegovina’s specific structural characteristics. Based on the quantitative indicators, the report identifies internal imbalances in 2023 in the form of persistently high unemployment and strong real estate price growth, alongside an external imbalance linked to rising unit labour costs that weigh on competitiveness.
Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2025-01-07
Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina expands flagship research with an annual Macroeconomic Imbalances Report highlighting 2023 unemployment, house price and unit labour cost pressures
The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has introduced a Macroeconomic Imbalances Report, issued annually since 2024, to assess domestic economic risks from internal and external imbalances. Based on the EU's procedures, it identifies issues like high unemployment, real estate price growth, and rising unit labour costs affecting competitiveness. The CBBH cautions against direct comparisons with EU economies due to Bosnia and Herzegovina's unique structural characteristics.