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socialist self-management

Yugoslavian policy
Also known as: workers’ self-management

Quick Summary

Socialist self-management was a unique economic policy implemented in Yugoslavia after its break with the Soviet Union in 1948. This system aimed to decentralize economic control, moving away from the rigid central planning of the Soviet model.123

Key features included:
* Worker Control: Factories and institutions were managed by workers' councils, elected by employees. These councils made decisions on production, pay, and investment.13
* Decentralization: The system aimed to give more autonomy to individual enterprises and regions, moving power away from a central planning agency.13
* Market Socialism: Reforms in the 1960s sought to operate enterprises on commercial principles, creating a form of "market socialism".3

While this system led to economic growth for a period, it also created significant disparities between developed northern republics and less developed southern regions. Issues like inflation, a lack of effective central control, and rivalries between republics contributed to a serious economic crisis in the 1980s, foreshadowing Yugoslavia's breakup.145

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