The Slovenian Transition Model

The transition in Slovenia has been described as gradualist. Indeed, gradualism was, in a sense, a natural heritage of previous systemic changes, embodied in the country's initial economic conditions and consistent with its political history. Amidst political uncertainty in 1990, the Slovenian government decided to pursue pragmatic economic policy which should ascertain the socially bearable costs of transition, facilitate timely adaptation to highly uncertain political decisions, and generate suitable responses to the economic policies of the federal government. Systemic changes were made cautiously as well. The fact that gradualism prevailed in Slovenia's macroeconomic policy and systemic restructuring does not imply that there was a general consensus. On the contrary. Gradualism implied that certain rather specific political, social, and economic features should be used in the transition. This became a disputed issue: the majority of domestic economists considered the legacy of the past an exploitable advantage; to many foreign and a minority of domestic economists, however, it would impede rather than assist the transition.