From political capitalism to clientelist capitalism? The case of Croatia

The paper analyses the typology of capitalism in Croatia. The Croatian form of capitalism is specific, in form and origin, with links between the pre-independence and post-independence periods, implying that capitalism has gradually evolved – from the political during the eighties towards current clientelistic capitalism. The manufacturing focus aims to facilitate the analysis of institutional, political and economic changes over the past forty years, emphasising the implications of institutional changes which have to a great extent, apart from the war of course, influenced the evolution of capitalism. The paper finds that the transition generated a number of costs, mainly generated by the state (fall in employment, manufacturing and social capital). The claim that the manufacturing industry has inherited low competitiveness neglects the necessary discussion on the role of the state in the formation of industrial policy and market actions. It is also an ex post argument for the claim that restructuring should have been implemented prior to privatisation as this would reduce negative impacts. Institutional changes led to a drastic reduction of the role of the manufacturing sector in the economy. The main finding in this paper is that the change in the interaction between the financial and the real sectors of the economy, the educational system and industrial relations system exposed the vulnerability of the current institutional environment. Despite similarities, institutional advantages of political capitalism are lost in the new type of Croatian capitalism, due to the complexity of the double transition process and the institutional or socio-economic particularities.