Arapović: If BiH curbed half of its grey economy, it wouldn't need IMF loans

The grey economy in BiH represents a significant part of the overall economic activity, according to the "State of the Nation" report, presented today in Sarajevo by the Center for Civic Initiatives (CCI), writes Patria.

- The latest relevant estimates speak of a value of 25 percent of GDP or over 7 billion KM, so, in addition to other social losses, tax losses alone due to the grey economy amount to over 3 billion KM. If half of the grey economy were curbed, we would not need IMF loans – emphasized Adis Arapović, CCI program manager.

The Center for Civic Initiatives (CCI) today presented a comprehensive report "State of the Nation" which provides a precise overview of the effects of reforms in BiH in the last 18 months, i.e., since the adoption of the Reform Agenda, in its areas: Public Finance, Business Climate and Competitiveness, Labor Market, Social and Pension Policy, Public Administration and Rule of Law, and the impact of all of the above on citizens' living standards.

The report states that the implementation of the Reform Agenda in BiH is slow and selective, due to political instability and blockades, and in most areas still does not yield the expected results, writes Patria.