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In the new economy, based on knowledge and innovation, the concept of human capital is becoming an increasingly important factor of growth (and development) not only for urban, but also for rural areas. The studies dealing with the analysis of the available human capital at the local level have highlighted its significant presence in rural areas characterised by a “specific environmental quality”, defined in the literature as rural outdoor amenities. Highly educated individuals who live and work with their families in these areas are responsible for the successful transformation of the local economy, employment growth, the improvement of living standard, development of entrepreneurship, and achievement of high rates of economic growth. This paper is aimed at analysing the relevance of the concept of human capital for rural development, with special emphasis on the rural development of Serbia. The paper presents the results of anempirical study of the model of economic growth of rural areas in Serbia,based on the panel data analysis, during a five-year period. According tothe results, human capital and entrepreneurship have a significant impacton economic growth. Additionally, there are significant differences inthe rate of economic growth between the rural areas with high and lowoutdoor amenities in Serbia. Human capital and entrepreneurship arerepresented in the models of rural economy growth as determinants of thedevelopment mechanism through which rural economies grow.

The paper starts from the concept of the Open Balkan as a community of countries in the Western Balkans, aimed at strengthening their economic cooperation and development for faster integration in the European Union. Significant attention is paid to the analysis of the interdependence of (in)stability of the state and the economic development of small countries. The position of the Open Balkan and its members is also analysed on the basis of the selected global composite indices. An important subject of the analysis is also the condition of institutional capacities of the members of the Open Balkan and their institutional cooperation from the perspective of faster progress towards the European integration. Two main hypotheses have been tested in the paper: (H1) CEEs countries are not a homogeneous group of countries; and (H2) The Western Balkans is a relatively homogeneous regional integration. To test the convergence hypothesis between 16 Central and Eastern European countries (CEEs), annual data from World Bank’s database on the value of real gross domestic product per capita (in constant dollars 2017, PPP) in the period 2000-2026 were used (projected values for the period until 2026). We employed the method developed by Phillips & Sul (2007) that allows identification of clusters of convergence on the basis of an algorithm that is data-driven and thereby avoids a priori classification of the data into subgroups. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that Serbia is the “locomotive” of the Western Balkans and that all countries in this area should join the regional initiative for cooperation, the Open Balkan.

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The paper first analyzes the institutional frame- work of the economy and public finances in Ser- bia, with particular reference to the treatment of the SME sector and entrepreneurs, foreign inves- tors and the digital (IT) infrastructure. A special part of the paper deals with the dynamics of ac- cession to the European Union of some countries that are now members of this integration, as well as with the process of Serbia’s membership, since it is considered that this process is the key de- terminant of the institutional conditions for our country. The third part deals with the treatment of public finances in the Constitutions of the se- lected EU Member States.