New privatisation wave: Serbia has enough mistakes to learn from

Unlike established market economies, in countries undergoing transition privatisation manifests itself as a large-scale property transfer and involves long-term consequences that can make or break their economies. Societal and political changes depend indirectly – though very closely – upon the way the process is carried out. Evidence has it that a big chunk of the most successful Serbian companies are still in state hands. This will have to change, if Serbia is to conform to the Western institutions’ trends of liberalisation and to cover up some of its budgetary holes. LSEE’s Tena Prelec discusses Serbia’s troubled relationship with the idea of privatisation.