FEATURES OF THE REGULATORY REGIME OF BANKS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Social relations, economic development and capital concentration have conditioned the development of legal science in the field of companies. Few legal areas have been so susceptible to legal evolution, especially in the last few decades, where the tendency for permanent changes remains to be seen. Through its development, the company law has expressed its own legal institutes, and the legislature has a number of different legal relationships and facts. In particular, banks with their many personalities are singled out within companies. The credit deposit business conditions specific legal relations, which again affects the creation of a special legal framework. Corporate governance systems are characteristic of the steak-holder approach, which stems from the fact that banks have other people's money, and potential losses are made up of state funds, or budget funds. Banking operations, i.e. the management system thus becomes the public interest. This is especially manifested in the creation of a control framework, in order to preempt the development of systemic risks, which are very emphasized by the banks. These risks may be at both the international and national level, subject to both international and national regulatory control. All this affects a range of personalities in the internal organization of banks, and overall the creation of a special legal framework.

CORPORATE AND SOVEREIGN FINANCING IN THE EUROBOND MARKET: SOME KEY ISSUES

In this article the author considers the previous importance of the Eurobond market for corporate and sovereign financing, corporate and sovereign Eurobonds issuing process, as well as costs and effects of corporate and sovereign financing in the Eurobond market. These four issues associated with corporate and sovereign financing in the Eurobond market are studied through exposing the relevant theoretical knowledge and results of empirical research. According to author’s findings, in developed countries the Eurobond market is more important for corporate than for sovereign financing. On the contrary, in developing countries the Eurobond market is more important for sovereign than for corporate financing. Most theoretical attitudes associated with the influence of different factors are grouped in three categories: issue characteristics, market factors and macroeconomic factors, as well as the influence of contagion on the cost of sovereign and corporate financing in the Eurobond market were empirically confirmed. Benefits of corporateandsovereignfinancingintheEurobondmarketare certainly large and risks can successfully be managed.

PUBLIC DEBT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH – THE CASE OF THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

Establishing and maintaining macroeconomic stability and fiscal discipline on the one hand, and stimulating economic activity, by enhancing the quality of public finances, increasing capital expenditures, and enhancing competitiveness in the Macedonian economy, on the other hand, are two opposing objectives that should be pursued by policymakers. Government borrowing, especially foreign borrowing, is an important source of fixed assets to cover public expenditure. However, the sustainability of public debt depends not only on the level of public debt, but also on the structure and successful implementation of policies to boost economic growth. Borrowing for a country with low economic potential and a constant shortage of capital is inevitable, especially external borrowing. However, the structure, purpose of the assets and their multiplier effect on the overall economy are the main criteria for assessing the impact of public debt on the economy. This paper attempts to apply the econometric VAR analysis to examine the correlation and causal relationship between public debt and economic growth rate of the case of the Republic of North Macedonia for the period 2002 - 2017. The variables to be analyzed are: GDP growth per capita, Public debt as a proportion of GDP, Gross Domestic Investment, Interest Rate and Government Spending. For the purpose of this analysis, a Granger causality test has been conducted. The test results indicate that the impact of public debt growth in North Macedonia does not have a significant impact on GDP growth per capita. The other test that is being conducted is a Vector Error Correction Model which shows that public debt is negatively correlated with short run and long run economic growth.

ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES IN THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA AND ASSESSMENT OF THEIR FINANCIAL RISK

The paper investigates how financially insecure public companies in the Republic of Srpska are using the Altman EM score model and the RAPO model developed on business entities in the Republic of Srpska. Public companies are classified as low, medium and high risk companies in terms of the probability of going bankrupt. The results show that in the observed period from 2013 to 2018, half of public companies are constantly in the problem zone, while about 40% are in the safe zone. That is, companies that have been identified as problematic have been in that group for many years, while those with low business risk have been consistently successful. The paper also presents the state's participation in the capital of public companies, as well as expenditures in the form of subsidies and recapitalizations that are allocated from the budget every year.

TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY CONVERGENCE CASE OF THE WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES

This study examines Total Factor Productivity (hereinafter TFP) convergence in the Western Balkan countries (Republic of Slovenia-SL, Republic of Croatia-CR, Republic of Serbia-SR, and the Republic of Srpska-RS). Our analysis will cover the time period 2000- 2018. Our goal here is threefold. First, we will estimate the TFP for selected countries, and to do so, we will apply the growth accounting. Second, we will use the development accounting to test for the unconditional catching up. And third, we will test the country’s ability to learn or absorb new technology from the more advanced leader through the ``technology gap`` and ``technology spillovers``. In our survey, we will assume, apriori, that most developed country is Slovenia, followed by Croatia, Serbia, and the Republic of Srpska.

IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON SALES FUNNELS IN B2C AND B2B SEGMENTS IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

The research focuses on introducing social media platforms as either a complementary or main channel in the company sales funnel. Internet technologies and Web 2.0 continue to provide innovations in digital marketing, with the latest iteration being lead generation services through social media. Data shows that almost half of the world population is active on social media, with the new Generation Alpha being projected to be entirely online dependent and proficient in the use of new technologies. The paper provides an overview of the digitalization of sales funnels, as well as the benefits that social media platforms can offer if implemented correctly. Secondary data provides the basis for transforming sales funnels with social media, where previous research provides limited data on the effectiveness of these types of efforts. Primary data demonstrates that introducing social media platforms can provide improvements of up to 3 to 4 times in analyzed case studies, as well as the shorter time when deciding about purchase in use case scenarios. Social media advertising can also be utilized to shorten the sales funnel process and serve as a unified point of entrance and exit in the first few stages.

FISCAL RESPONSES TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC THROUGH REDESIGNING OF CORPORATE INCOME TAX IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

Corporate income tax (CIT) is a fundamental tool of the fiscal system due to its sensitivity to economic cycles and the impact it can have on the economic decisions of enterprises. Although the justification of corporate income tax has been called into question in the current academic literature, it is one of the tax forms that can be used to stabilize and develop the economy, especially after the crisis. For this reason, this paper provides an analysis of corporate income tax in Serbia. The paper will focus on reduced CIT rates and tax incentives. Our work aims to contribute to the literature in two aspects. The first is to provide evidence that it is necessary to carry out parametric reform of corporate income tax. Another is providing additional literature on the COVID-19 crisis to form the basis for further economic research.

COMPARISON OF ALTMAN'S Z - SCORE MODEL AND ALTMAN'S Z''- SCORE MODEL ON THE SAMPLE OF COMPANIES WHOSE SHARES ARE INCLUDED IN THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA STOCK EXCHANGE INDEX

In this paper, we analysed companies whose shares are included in the Republic of Srpska Stock Exchange Index (BIRS), using Altman's Z-Score model and Altman's Z"-Score model, in order to determine their insolvency risk. Altman's Z-Score is a combination of five weighted financial ratios used to estimate the likelihood of financial distress, and possible bankruptcy of the observed companies. It is used widely by auditors, accountants, commercial banks, and other organizations to assess the financial health of their clients. Altman also developed revised versions of the model to assess the financial health of privately-held firms and non-manufacturing companies, as well as companies in emerging markets - Altman's Z'- Score model and Altman's Z" - Score model. The results of our research on a sample of 14 companies whose shares are included in BIRS show that, although it is an emerging market, Altman's Z-Score model gives better results that indicate much-needed caution when drawing conclusions about the observed companies.

DEVELOPMENT AND PERSPECTIVES OF DIGITAL ECONOMY IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

The Internet revolution is driving new advances in the digital economy. The new economy must harmonize traditional and modern approaches to the economy in order to respond to the challenge of managing the country based on monitoring technological change and innovation. The digital economy is considered to be the key to solving a large number of social, economic, and other problems in society, as well as to achieving sustainable development and economic growth of the national economy. The evolution of information and communication technology on which the digital economy is based is an essential factor in ensuring labour productivity and economic growth. The main goal of this paper is to present the digital economy in the Republic of Serbia as a possible chance and opportunity for the realization of which it is necessary to establish a new business model, as well as to determine the relationship between the achieved level of digital development and economic development.

QUALITY OF INSTITUTIONS IN CANDIDATE AND POTENTIAL CANDIDATE COUNTRIES COMPARED TO THE NEWEST EUROPEAN MEMBERS

This paper deals with the quality of institutions in two samples. The first sample consists of candidates and potential candidates for membership in the European Union - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and N. Macedonia, while the second sample consists of the youngest member states of the European Union - Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania. In some of the earlier papers, as a co-author or author, I compared the countries of the region with the members of "New Europe", i.e. the countries that became members of the EU in 2004, but a glance look at the data today led me to the conclusion that the quality of the institutional environment in the region is more logical to compare with the newest EU members. Even in comparison with these countries, our region lags significantly behind. As a database for the quality of institutions, I used the World Governance Indicators developed by Kaufman et al. (2010). Institutions are defined as they were defined by Nobel laureate Douglas North and after him, a whole group of economists under the auspices of the New Institutional Economy.