Centre Periphery Relations in Czechoslovakia

Industrialisation in Czechoslovakia led to only a weak concentration of economic activity. This trend continued in the post-war years when no coherent regional policy was formulated. The form of development, and the central position of the engineering industry, led to concentration into a number of centres alongside dispersion often into very small towns. Much of the population gravitated towards small communities, often heavily dependent on a single employer. Available evidence suggests that this led to a considerable equalisation between regions, but differences persist between the Czech and Slovak parts of the republic. The locational structure has been criticised as inefficient, but the real problem is the extreme social costs associated with structural changes in the economy. Slovakia is suffering much more during the transition to a market. Past growth has created a structure within which current hardships are easily translated into conflicts between local communities and the central authorities.