Roma Inclusion: An Economic Opportunity for Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania and Serbia explores the question: "what is the economic argument for Roma inclusion?" The analysis is based on quantitative data from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania, and Serbia, and information from interviews with 222 stakeholders – government and non-government officials and Roma and non-Roma. Seven household surveys for these four countries provided sufficiently rich information to make the economic calculations. The four countries represent more than two-thirds of Roma in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. 

The report argues that Roma inclusion is smart economics, increasing GDPs by more than 3% and government budgets by more than 4% annually now – numbers that are increasing sharply given current population trends. The focus of the report is on the economic benefits of Roma integration. In particular, it asks the question How much larger would the economies be, and how much higher would government revenue be, if Roma enjoyed the same labor market opportunities as the majority populations?

The current labor market integration of Roma is poor. Equal labor market opportunities would generate more economic productivity and provide fiscal benefits in terms of lower government payments for social assistance such as guaranteed minimum income programs, and increased revenue from income taxes. Even lower bound estimates show that there are large economic and fiscal benefits. For the four countries, we estimate the economic benefits to be at least Euro 2 billion annually and the fiscal benefits to be at least Euro 700 million annually. These are lower bound estimates that rely on official population estimates, some from the 2001/2002 national censuses, which put the combined Roma population across these four countries at 1.1 million compared with 3.1 million according to commonly used estimates (e.g. UNDP, 2006). The latter population figures would suggest that the economic benefits from inclusion are at least Euro 5.5 billion annually and fiscal benefits at least Euro 1.8 billion annually for the four countries. This corresponds to productivity losses of 2,412 Euro per each working age Roma in Bulgaria, Euro 7,344 in the Czech Republic, Euro 2,596 in Romania, and 3,458 in Serbia. Further, estimates for Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans region as a whole are Euro 3.4 to 9.9 billion annually in economic gains and Euro 1.2 to 3.5 billion annually in fiscal gains. These figures unequivocally support the words of one of the 222 stakeholders interviewed: “[the Roma] represent an opportunity, not a burden.” 
 

Related:  Knowledge Brief: Economic Costs of Roma Exclusion (2010)