2nd Regional Policy Dialogue on Tobacco Economics in Southeastern Europe

The 2nd International Conference and Regional Policy Dialogue Event “Tobacco Economics in Southeast Europe” was held in Skopje, North Macedonia, on December 12^th- 13^th 2019. The aim of the conference was to disseminate the research results and to present policy briefs about tobacco taxation policies in several Western Balkan countries. Besides national policy documents, the director of the Institute of Economic Sciences, Jovan Zubovic, presented a regional study “Impacts of Tobacco Excise increases on Cigarette Consumption and Government Revenues in Southeastern European Countries”. Regional study is project research output “Accelerating Progress on Effective Tobacco Tax Policies in Low and Middle-Income Countries” funded by the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), a key partner of the Blumberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use.

The participants were representatives of national research teams from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, as well as policymakers from the region, representatives of international organizations and civil societies.

Representatives of the Institute of Economic Sciences, Jovan Zubovic, Marko Vladisavljevic, Mihajlo Djukic and Olivera Jovanovic participated in this conference and presented the research results about accelerating progress on effective tobacco tax policy in Serbia. Representatives also participated in a panel discussion “how this economic research can support advocacy in the SEE region” in collaboration with advocates in the field of tobacco taxation policy.