engleski

Back to the future: Structural problems of economic development of Slavonia in 1919 and 2020

After the end of the First World War and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy Croatian countries, apart from the direct war consequences, were devastated by long-lasting structural economic difficulties that resulted in the extremely uneven development of the industrial economy at the level of the Monarchy and the additional relative lagging behind of the Croatian countries. Looking at the antecedents and the consequences of economic circumstances in Slavonia ahundred years ago we can conclude that the same basic problems are present today. We propose that the basic aggravating features of the economic development of the Croatian countries including Slavonia before the dissolution of the Monarchy were (1) the oppressive demands of a supranational hierarchy which manifested itself in the territorial divisions of Croatia under the Austro-Hungarian Compromise settlement of 1867, (2) the lack of its own national economic policy, (3) weak industrialization based on the foreign initiative and money whose basic business model is exploiting natural resources and a favorable geo-economic position and (4) a high relative degree of illiteracy, lack of education and lack of knowledge necessary for a more significant economicdevelopment. The paper focuses on an analysis of the current economic structure of Slavonia based on these four issues and the comparison of the current situation with the situation from a hundred years ago. By comparing the causes and consequences of observed prerequisites of economic development, we will be able to conclude whether Slavonia and Croatia have improved their position in this respect or is the same scenario repeating again.

Slavonia, economic development, economic history, Austro-Hungarian monarchy, European Union

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