Hi there. I’m officially done with my first semester of studies (no grades yet – I might do a post on those, once they start rolling in). One more assignment to submit mid-August and I can officially enjoy my summer off (+ working part time, but that’s pretty fun).
Since about two weeks now, I’ve been home in Kosovo. Not to get all economics-y again, but did you know that the Keynesian school of thought thinks aggregate demand (i.e. societal demand) sometimes needs government policy to stimulate it? Where am I going with this? Well, I always wondered whether this excused consumerism to some extend: you can only save the economy, if you keep buying (in a way). But seriously, where am I going with this, I hear you ask? Well, of all the things I frequently observe about Kosovo, one always strikes me as … interesting: we. love. to. spend. Spending on shopping; spending on coffee; spending on this, on that. Heck, there was even an urban legend that Zara broke all domestic sales records during the pandemic, because people. were. shopping!
Kosovo is very much considered a developing country, but do we spend like one? I’m not sure. Maybe all developing countries spend more; maybe they don’t. Point being, I think it’s a good sign. Sure, it’s not good to be consuming so much for the environment, but on the other side, I think spending on coffee and clothes says something about positive expectations. And, if I’ve learned anything this first semester, it’s that expectations really play a role in economics.
On this positive note, I hope we continue with our positive, forward-looking expectations. Here’s some pictures of Kosovo to adjust your expectations too:
shenime.com 
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