Yugoslavia Proposes Economic Reforms
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia — Prime Minister Ante Markovic has outlined to Parliament various reforms designed to stimulate private enterprise and ease state intervention.
In a report to a joint session of the two-chamber legislature in Belgrade, Markovic said the proposed program is aimed at “creating a completely new system of new socialism†based on “political democracy and economic efficiency.â€
He appealed to legislators to approve the entire package because only as a whole could it stop spiraling annual inflation, which in August hit nearly 900%.
Markovic said private enterprise will be stimulated, the economy will be separated and freed from political influence and the state will intervene in the economy only in rare cases, similar to Western free-market economies.
Private, foreign, state-owned and mixed enterprises in Yugoslavia would be treated the same, he said. Companies, whether private or state-owned, would work on a strictly commercial basis, which would mean bankruptcy for those that lose money.
Referring to the power struggle among feuding leaders of Yugoslavia’s six republics and two provinces, Markovic said, “In the name of common sense, our responsibility to the people, young generation, future and history, let us turn to solving real problems so we can catch up with the world.â€
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