Industrija (Jan 2023)

Regional economic losses from excluding Roma women from labour market in Serbia

  • Tanasković Svetozar,
  • Jandrić Maja,
  • Molnar Dejan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5937/industrija51-47188
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 51, no. 1
pp. 47 – 66

Abstract

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In this paper, we calculate the economic costs of labour market exclusion of Roma women at the NUTS 2 level in Serbia in terms of output and fiscal benefits. The approach relies on the analysis of a scenario in which there are no differences in the level of wages or in labour force participation and employment rates between Roma and non-Roma labour market participants. We use Labour Force Survey (LFS) data from 2019 as a basis for the comparison of the Roma and non-Roma in terms of expected gross earnings for working-age individuals provided they are employed. The results show that the total economic loss (output + fiscal) due to the exclusion of Roma women from the labour market in Serbia amounts to about 197.7 million euros on an annual basis. Of that, 70.5% (139.3 million euros) come from output/productivity losses, and 29.5% (58.4 million euros) from fiscal losses. The largest contribution to total economic losses comes from the South and Eastern Serbia region (37.25%), followed by the Vojvodina region (28.25%), the Belgrade region (24.03%) and the Šumadija and Western Serbia region (10.46%).

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