Cross-border cooperation in southeastern Europe: The enterprises' point of view

Abstract

This article examines the current status, limits, prospects, and policies of cross-border cooperation in the border zone of Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), and Greece on the basis of a survey sample of 291 manufacturing firms located near the borders in all four countries. The analysis suggests that border region firms have a higher level of interaction than the respective average national firms in all countries and that trade relations and economic cooperation eventually depend on the level of specialization and the size of the markets. It also suggests that barriers to cooperation are important and can negatively affect the performance of border region firms. Overall, firms are less concerned about the quality of infrastructure and more concerned about the general or the financial conditions prevailing in each country, indicating that the best policy for cross-border cooperation, rather than improvements in infrastructure, may be the development of the economies in the region and the improvements in their economic environment.