Book Description

Within the context of civil war the economic structure of Yugoslavia is being tenuously held together. Having the legacy of neither a free-market nor strictly socialist economy, the experience of Yugoslavia is unique amongst East European countries. This book draws out the important experience of a self-managed market-socialist type economy and asks the question of whether or not this point of departure will secure an advantageous position for the country. The contributors to this volume analyse the theory of self-management and how it operated in practice. They conclude that this approach did not bring the anticipated benefits, and that inequality not only persisted but actually increased under self-management. The economic situation has therefore been a driving force for political reform. In the concluding section, the editors draw out the lessons that emerge from the Yugoslavian experience for other East European political economies now in the complex process of transformation to market-style economies.