A N A LY S I S ECONOMY AND FINANCE REGIONAL DISPARITIES AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES IN SERBIA Milica Uvalić, Will Bartlett October 2021 Regional inequalities in Serbia, among the highest in Europe, have widened over the past two decades. Regional development policies based on subsidies have had little effect in reducing region­al disparities as the subsidies have not been effectively tar­geted on firms in the least de ­veloped regions, while local self-governments have not been recognised as key stake­holders in the formulation and implementation of local eco­nomic development policy. A more balanced regional de­velopment in Serbia would ease the pressures for rural-ur­ban migration, reduce the de­cline in labour-force participa­tion in less developed regions, create new job opportunities for young people, and reduce the concentration of political power in the largest urban centres enabling a greater democratic participation of citizens.