THE IMPACT OF ECOLOGICAL REGULATIONS AND MANAGEMENT ON NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS IN THE BALKAN STATES.

The object of this research is to describe the impact that ecological regulations and management have on the national competitiveness in the Balkan states. The thesis of the present article is that increasing regulation along with the development of ecological sustainability will lead to higher competitiveness in the Balkan states of Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Croatia and Serbia. The effect of basic ecological regulations and management will be shown and analysed both in the region as a whole as well as on a state-by-state basis in terms of national competitiveness, with the correlation between the ecological regulation and competitiveness measured. The time frame reflected is from 2013 to 2017, and a Pearson linear correlation will be applied. In a summary and conclusion, we shall show that regulation plays a prominent role both in reaching ecological sustainability, as well as in the positive development of the Balkan states' competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]