THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN THE EU AND TRANSITION COUNTRIES: DOES POLITICAL ORIENTATION MATTER ON ECONOMIC POLICIES?

The paper will assess the impact of COVID-19 on developed and developing countries by measuring GDP and public debt, followed by an analysis of Kosovo as a case study that experienced double challenges such as COVID-19 and three successive governments from February 2020 to June 2021. This article compares the different economic policies undertaken by the three Kosovo governments to accelerate economic recovery. The methodology used to compare the variations in GDP growth, unemployment, and debt as a proportion of GDP between two groups of countries employs a descriptive statistical analysis. In this paper were compared the three different packages implemented by using the data from the Ministry of Finance and Economy and other local and international organizations. It was assumed that all countries experienced an increase in public debt as a proportion of GDP, an increase in unemployment, and a decline in GDP growth. Focusing on Kosovo's economic recovery, we understood that despite economic challenges, economic recovery measures were focused more on the political views of the different governments' convincing massive voters than on any broader economic analysis. The paper analyzes the unequal impact of COVID-19 in the EU and Western Balkans. Thus, in the paper is used Kosovo as a case study, a country that experienced political instability due to three government changes and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is investigated whether political orientation affects economic recovery strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]