"Serbia today is not a country extreme misery from the nineties. However, a large part of society is vulnerable," he says Vladimir Vuckovic in a conversation with Viktor Radonjić for the new issue of "Vremena" (Thursday, July 9).
"There are people that a broken machine, illness, loss of job, rising rent or a jump in food prices quickly bring back below the safety limit. The key to understanding Serbia is that the problem is not only poverty, but widespread economic insecurity," says Vučković.
Photo: Vreme, Dimitrije Goll/TanjugCover page of the new issue
"In such a society, clientelism, that is, the exchange of goods and services for political support, is easily created. Empirical research shows a strong connection between clientelistic regimes and poverty. When voters are vulnerable, a small, immediate and selective benefit - a job, a one-time aid, a subsidy, a gift, the attention of local authorities - can have greater political value than the abstract benefit of long-term growth, institutions or public goods. Poorer voters are cheaper to maintain and easier to mobilize. Thus, it creates a vicious circle between poverty and bad policies…”
Read the entire interview in the new issue of "Vremena" from Thursday (July 9) or subscribe to the digital edition now.
