engleski

Industrial districts as potential factor of restructuring of Croatian economy

The aim of this paper is to investigate the possibility to use experience and concept of industrial districts of Italian type in restructuring of Croatian economy and solving transition problems. Whereas in Italy enterpreneurship of individual farmers and artisans was the agent of industrialisation, the socialist ideology considered them to be "reactionaries", so in Croatia the process of industrialisation was related to fast deagrarisation and concentration of work force in large urban industrial centres. In all ex-socialist countries the transition process brought about the decline of large industrial systems and increase of unemployment requiring economic restructuring. International organisations have repeatedly endorsed to Eastern European policy-makers the idea that it would be worthwhile promoting small firms as the basis for a renovation of industrial structure. However, experience of the spontaneous development of small firms without systematic institutional interventions in Croatia is not encouraging. The experience of industrial districts is inspiring because the possibility of their successful introduction offers solutions for some significant inherited regional problems, as well as for the problems of economic restructuring facing Croatia. The lack of theoretically organised strategy and release of economy to anarchy due to trust in the automatism of market forces has created conditions unlikely to give rise to either spontaneous or directed formation of industrial districts. In spite of this, Italian experience and theoretical discussions on industrial districts can offer valuable guidance for the future.

industrial district; economic restructuring

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