Blagoje Paunović is a professor at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade and a President of Fiscal Council. At the Faculty of Economics he teaches a wide array of courses including business economics, entrepreneurship, small business management, investment management, project evaluation and investment policy, business analysis, risk management, and strategic management. He has also lectured extensively at various domestic and international institutions, seminars, etc. He studied at the University of Albany, USA and LSE, Great Britain.
He is a prolific author and co-author, having published 12 books (including scientific monographs and textbooks) and over 80 articles and papers published in domestic and international journals and other publications.
Professor Paunović's theoretical and practical interests span both macro- and microeconomics. His macroeconomic focus areas include finance (particularly financial institutions, risk, and international standards like Basel, Solvency II, and IFRS), competitiveness, sustainable economic development (including national, regional, and local strategies), investment and cost-benefit analysis, insurance, innovation, entrepreneurship promotion, investment policy, and transition economies. On the microeconomic side, he is interested in management (especially of SMEs), financial and strategic management, firm efficiency, competitiveness, restructuring, organizational design, compensation systems, risk management, international financial reporting standards, and the creation of business plans and feasibility studies.
He is an active member of the Serbian economic community. He serves on the presidency of the Serbian Association of Economists (SAE) and is a member of the Serbian Scientific Society of Economists. He is also on the editorial board of the journal "Economics of Enterprise" and previously served on the board of "Economic Annals."
Professor Paunović has held several leadership positions at the Faculty of Economics, including Head of the Department of Business Economics and Management (2012-2015, 2018-2021) and Director of the Scientific Research Center (NICEF, 2004-2009). He also has significant government experience, having served as Assistant Minister for Economy and Privatization in the Serbian government (2002-2004), where he focused on entrepreneurship and SME development. During this time, he coordinated the development of Serbia's first Strategy for the Development of Entrepreneurship and SMEs, helped establish a network of regional entrepreneurship centers, and served as the first national coordinator for the European Charter for Small Enterprises. He also led the working group that drafted the Law on the Guarantee Fund of the Republic of Serbia, chaired the Fund's board of directors, and played a key role in its establishment and operational procedures.
He has served as president or a member of the management/supervisory boards of numerous organizations, including the Institute of Economic Sciences in Belgrade, the Guarantee Fund of the Republic of Serbia, Tipoplasty a.d., KBC Bežanijska kosa, Privredna banka, Vojvođanska banka, and Nov-kabel a.d.
Professor Paunović has extensive consulting experience. He has participated in numerous projects involving the creation of strategic documents, economic policy measures, feasibility studies, and policy evaluations for the Serbian government, the Government of AP Vojvodina, local governments, and international organizations like the World Bank, UNDP, the European Commission, and others. He has also consulted for over 80 public and private companies, leading or participating in over 180 projects across various areas of business economics and management.
