Acknowledgments; Acronyms and Abbreviations; Executive Summary; 1. Fiscal Developments and Government Spending; Table 1.1. Income Levels in Most SEE Countries Are Low; Figure 1.1. Convergence with the EU is Advancing; Figure 1.2. SEE Macroeconomic Developments; Table 1.2. The Countries of Southeast Europe: Relations with the EU; Table 1.3. SEE, Decomposing Fiscal Adjustment, 2000-05; Table 1.4. General Government Debt; Table 1.5. Fiscal Developments in SEE, 1997-2006; Table 1.6. General Government Interest Payments and Primary Expenditures, 1997-2006.
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The countries of Southeast Europe have undergone a significant transition over the past decade. Helped by macroeconomic stabilization and efforts in advancing structural reforms, real GDP growth has picked up this century. Fiscal adjustment has been an integral part of the transition. Expenditure cuts have helped trim spending relative to GDP in most countries in the region and cut fiscal deficits everywhere except in Serbia. Progress in fiscal consolidation has been substantial, but in several of the countries the government??s presence in the economy remains oversized. Costs related to advan.