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FOLIA GEOGRAPHICA 2012 (20), LIV., pp. 5-22

Formovanie Regionálnej Politiky na Slovensku po Roku 1993 v Kontexte Vývoja Jeho Regionálnej Štruktúry

Formation of Regional Policy in Slovakia After 1993 in the Context of Its Regional Structure Development

Radomír Babiak A*

Received: June 1, 2012 | Revised: August 30, 2012 | Accepted: October 1, 2012

A* University of Prešov, 17. novembra 1, 080 01 Prešov, Slovakia radobabiak@gmail.com (corresponding author)

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Abstract

The transformation of central-planning to market economy had very important impacts on the regional structure of the post-communist Slovak Republic. There were formed such regions on its territory that only very selectively managed to respond to changing conditions of the overall economic development. Very big differencies, which had to be solved especially by regional policy, were created (and later deepened) among these regions in 1990s. However, the regional policy during the socialist period was implemented on the basis of completely different principles, as were later required in the market economy, so it was inevitable to build it up from its grounds. This paper investigates the creating of the regional policy in the Slovak Republic in the context of forming of its regional structure. It points out that the instruments of regional policy implemented in the Slovak Republic are inefficient, as even after 20 years of its building-up and practising there is still not sufficient reduction of unemployment rate within the country.

Key words: Regional policy, regional disparities, Slovak Republic

Summary

Formation of Regional Policy in Slovakia After 1993 in the Context of Its Regional Structure Development

Regional policy in former Czechoslovakia was realized via regional planning, which was characterized by very strong reduction of regional disparities at the expense of economic efficiency. After 1989 „artificially“ formed regional structure from socialist period was removed and in relation to the transition of economy a new regional structure begun to create. In the southern part of central Slovakia and also in the eastern Slovakia were formed very specific regions, where the unemployment increased very rapidly and which had considerable structural problems. However, in the first half of the 1990s the governments concerned mainly on macro-economic problems, whereas the problems of regional development and regional policy, except for some analytical and program documents, were just a second-class issue.
At the end of 1990s was the regional policy in Slovakia, due to the negotiation processes related to the EU admittance, gradually adapted to the regional policy of the European Union. The government launched the concept-based formation of regional policy. Its institutional basis was constituted, appropriate laws were passed and strategic programm documents were compiled. During the pre-accession period as well as during the shortened programming period 2004-2006 should, due to the official aims of regional policy in Slovakia, be practised the equalising strategy, which means that the fundamental objective of a regional policy was the reduction of regional disparities. The most dominant tool of such a strategy should have been the foreign direct investments (FDI) directed to the less developed regions. However, spatial distribution of FDI shows, that their biggest share was localised to the most developed regions, very close to the highways. As a result, regional disparities between the western and eastern part of the country were deepened.
Since the new programming period 2007-2013 the strategy of regional policy in the EU (and, also in Slovakia) has changed. Implementation of equalising strategy, realised with so-called spreading out way (via sprinkling the regions with small investments), has stopped. From this time on, Slovakia (as well as other EU countries) started to practise the concentrating strategy, based on prefering and supporting the economic centres of Slovakia, with the intention to raise the competitiveness of the country as a whole. Nowadays (2013), after the transition, experiencing considerable political and economic changes and after passing of approximately ten years, characterized by implementation of regional policy compatible with the RP of the EU we can claim that neither the implemented instruments of regional policy nor the very favourable developing trends in economy of Slovakia as a whole (especially before the crisis), have not succeeded to eliminate regional disparities in unemployment, which have, conversely, deepened. The differences between the most and the least developed regions of Slovakia are still increasing.

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