Please cite this article in press as: Nedi´ c, V., et al. Institutional reforms for economic growth in the Western Balkan countries. Journal of Policy Modeling (2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2020.04.002 ARTICLE IN PRESS +Model JPO-6611; No. of Pages 20 Journal of Policy Modeling xxx (2020) xxx–xxx Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect Institutional reforms for economic growth in the Western Balkan countries Vladimir Nedi´ c a , Danijela Despotovi´ c b,∗ , Slobodan Cvetanovi´ c c , Tadija Djuki´ c c , Dragan Petrovi´ c c a Academy of Professional Studies Sumadija, Kosovska 8, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia b University of Kragujevac – Faculty of Economics, Liceja Kneˇ zevine Srbije 3, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia c University of Niˇ s – Faculty of Economics, Trg Kralja Aleksandra 11, 18000 Niˇ s, Serbia Received 4 December 2019; received in revised form 10 March 2020; accepted 25 April 2020 Abstract The paper presents an empirical analysis of the impact of institutional reform policies and institutional quality on the economic growth of five Western Balkan countries (WB countries: Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia and Albania) in the period 2006-2016. It was developed its own model of quantification concerning the impact of the most important indicators of the quality of institutions on the economic growth of these countries, which are in a delayed phase of transition and at some stage in the EU accession process. Achieving high and stable rates of economic growth for WB countries becomes the ultimate prerequisite for completing the EU transition and accession process. In order to improve growth dynamics, among other things, it is necessary to identify key drivers of growth and to model appropriate growth and development policies based on the results obtained. In the paper, WB countries were viewed as a whole. By empirically testing the impact of individual quality indicators of institutions on economic growth, according to the World Bank Governance Indicators methodology by using panel data multiple linear regression analysis, the largest statistically significant and positive impact came from the Government Effectiveness and Regulatory Quality variable. The intensity of the impact of the Control of Corruption and Rule of Law variable on GDP per capita is slightly weaker, but it is also very pronounced. In this respect, the empirical results obtained can be a useful framework for modeling the development policies of WB ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: ddespotovic@kg.ac.rs (D. Despotovi´ c). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2020.04.002 0161-8938/© 2020 The Society for Policy Modeling. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.