THE MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH DYNAMICS IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Mirjana Gligoric Matic and Biljana Jovanovic Gavrilovic

University of Belgrade, Faculty of Economics, Belgrade, The Republic of Serbia

In this paper, the quantitative aspect of economic growth, i.e. its dynamics, is dealt with. Although it is common to observe the growth rate (intensity) when analyzing the growth dynamics of countries while neglecting growth variability, the fact that covering fluctuations in growth rates has clear motivation and practical significance is presented. On a sample of European countries, including Serbia, growth intensity and stability are analyzed in the paper in order to construct a growth dynamics indicator and an adjusted growth rate based upon these two components. Based upon the two constructed indicators, the position of each country in the sample and in the region (Western and Eastern Europe) which they belong to is analyzed. The detailed analysis and results indicate the importance of this approach when analyzing and comparing the economic growth of individual countries in the medium term and in the long term and when assessing effects on future economic growth and wellbeing.

Keywords: growth intensity, growth stability, growth dynamics, West Europe, East Europe, Serbia

JEL Classification: C10, O40, O52