Tobacco tax evasion in Western Balkan countries: tax evasion prevalence and evasion determinants

Background and objectiveTobacco tax evasion undermines the goal of tobacco taxes as a tobacco control measure to make tobacco products less affordable, increases the health risks for those who smoke and decreases the government revenue. This paper analyses the tobacco tax evasion in six Western Balkan (WB) countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The aim of this research is to estimate the size of the illicit market and identify the main determinants of tax evasion activities in the Southeastern European region.Data and methodsData from 2019 Survey on Tobacco Consumption in Southeastern Europe (STC-SEE) are used. STC-SEE provides uniquely comparable nationally representative data on smoking behaviour for adult (18–85 years old) population for each country. Tax evasion is defined on the basis of available information on tax stamps, health warnings, price and the place of purchase, in accordance with the previous research on tax evasion. In order to estimate the determinants of illicit purchases we use binary choice model of tax evasion.ResultsThe study finds that 20.4% of all current smokers in WB countries evade taxes on tobacco products, with evasion being much more frequent for hand-rolled (HR) tobacco (86.7%) than for the manufactured cigarettes (MC) (8.6%). While HR is predominantly illicit in all six countries, MC evasion varies significantly, with evasion being significantly higher in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Results further suggest that tax evasion is higher in the statistical regions where institutional capacities to tackle illicit trade are lower, in municipalities bordering countries with high MC evasion, as well as among smokers with low income, women and elderly. We also provide evidence that higher tobacco taxes and prices do not increase illicit consumption.ConclusionThe findings from the research suggest that in order to decrease tax evasion, governments should put additional effort to strengthen institutional capacities to tackle illicit tobacco markets. Furthermore, improving regional coordination in development and implementation of tobacco control policies, including the prevention of illicit market, is essential in lowering evasion in all WB countries. Finally, WB countries should regulate and enforce excise tax stamp requirements on the HR tobacco market to a much higher degree.

Hybrid Peacebuilding in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Participatory Arts and Youth Activism as Vehicles of Social Change

This article provides an analytical case study of a participatory youth-led filmmaking project in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Using the conceptual framework of hybridity, it critically considers whether and to what extent youth centred, participatory arts projects can facilitate the emergence of a positive hybrid peace. It reflects on three themes—solidarity; creativity as politics; and participation as norm—that speak to the opportunities and challenges encountered during the project. The analysis demonstrates that while participatory arts have the potential to induce a more emancipatory vision of peace, that, and mirroring the warnings from development studies, their effects are not a given and challenges and blockages persist.

Contemporary trends in the territorialisation of regional identities in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the example of Croats in Herzegovina

The article analyses new trends in the territorialisation of regional identities in the case of Croats in Herzegovina and other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. An analysis of media reports, popular culture and field research revealed a shift in the perception of Herzegovina’s regional identity. It spread northwest into the area of Canton 10 with a predominantly Croat population, persisted in the areas of Herzegovina’s historical borders, and decreased to some extent in eastern Herzegovina with a Serb ethnic majority.

Microbiological and physicochemical quality of honey in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The aim of the study was to investigate the microbiological and physico-chemical quality of honey samples, sampled for the event “Honey Days in FB&H 2020”, which tested a total of 33 samples of different honey types from different geographical areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between physico-chemical properties and microbiological properties of the tested honey to assess quality. The submitted samples originated from both administrative units of B&H, namely from the continental, sub-Mediterranean and Mediterranean part, covering more than 60% of the country’s territory. Of the total number of analysed samples (n=33), nine samples (29.7%) did not meet the requirements of physico-chemical and microbiological parameters of the test. The requirements of one or more quality parameters according to the national Ordinance on methods for the control of honey and other bee products in B&H (Anonymous, 2009) were not met by five samples (16.5%). Four samples (13.2%) did not meet the microbiological quality, as they exceeded the permitted number of yeasts and moulds. In five samples (16.5%), the presence of microorganisms was recorded within the tolerance limits, while Enterobacteriaceae and sulphite-reducing clostridia were not isolated and were below the detection limit in all samples. Honey samples in which the results were found to be unsatisfactory for physico-chemical parameters and microbiological parameters cannot be correlated.

Evaluation of Green Areas of Konya Selçuklu, Bosna-Hersek Neighborhood in Terms of Sufficiency, Management and Usage

Green areas are spaces organized as areas where people can get rid of their monotonous lives and meet their active or passive recreation needs. In order for a society to be physically and mentally healthy, green spaces must fulfil the purposes of establishment. The main material of the research is the green areas of Bosna-Hersek neighbourhood. The questionnaire method was used in the study and the green areas in Konya province Selçuklu district Bosnia and Herzegovina neighbourhood were evaluated in terms of sufficiency, management and usage

New records of Salicornia s.l. in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Floristic investigations on the eastern part of Adriatic coast in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina led to the discovery of three glasswort taxa new for the area: Arthrocaulon macrostachyum (Moric.) Piirainen et G. Kadereit and Salicornia procumbens Sm. subsp. procumbens and S. perennis Mill. All three taxa were recorded in the abandoned basins of Tivat Saline in Montenegro, while S. perennis was also found in the Klek Peninsula in Bosnia and Hercegovina. According to the IUCN criteria, the status of the newly reported taxa was classified as “critically endangered” (CR) in both countries.

The Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina Into the European Union

This chapter focuses on the analysis of the EU integration process of Bosnia and Herzegovina, dealing with the internal and external political challenges that country is facing on its path towards aspired EU membership. As one of the main internal challenges, the authors recognize a very pronounced ethnocracy and leaderocracy that captures democratic process, making the country unstable and unable to fulfill criteria even to achieve the status of candidate for EU membership. Furthermore, there is a strong influence of the neighboring countries, which were involved in the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and continue to play very often an obstructive role in internal politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As the authors argue, in BiH, the issue of Euro-Atlantic integration is less a matter of political and economic transition, and more, it is not primarily an issue of stabilizing the peace and creating fundamental preconditions for overall development.