I am looking for books on Communist Yugoslavia's economy. Do you have any suggestions?

by -Soen-

I'd like to write my degree thesis on the Economic History of Yugoslavia after WW2. In particular, on how its economy, based on market socialism and workers' organizations, differed drastically from the countries that partecipated in COMECON. I have found multiple books through research, although there are no reviews or raccomendations. I have found nothing about the subject on the sub's Master Book List, either.

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Can any of you help me on the matter?

Elend_V

I actually wrote my undergraduate dissertation on Yugoslavia, so hopefully I can help.

I'd recommend Yugoslavia in Crisis and Yugoslav socialism: theory and practice, both by H. F. Lydall. They are a little bit dated, but they have some really good economic data inside them, especially discussing the 1970's. A lot of the more up to date books seem to rely on the same primary sources as both those books use, but I've yet to find any more recent ones which have the same breadth of coverage.

A much more up-to-date book on Yugoslavia would be Social Inequalities and Discontent in Yugoslav Socialism, published in 2016. There are a few chapters in there which might interest you, such as one about how housing policy failed to provide adequate housing for the working class in Belgrade, or one looking at tourism.

If you want to look at the ideological motivations behind the various economic differences between Yugoslav and Soviet Communism, I'd recommend Yugoslavia: A State That Withered Away by D Jović. There's a chapter which really focuses on why Yugoslavia adopted a separate path to the rest of Communist Europe, and how they constructed a new interpretation of Communism. Which then led to their unique approach to economic policy.

If you need to look at primary sources as well, I'd recommend Democracy and Socialism by Edvard Kardelj (one of the most important politicians of Communist Yugoslavia, right up there near Tito). The translation I read was published by The Summerfield Press, although there might be others available. It includes criticisms made by Kardelj against the Soviet system, which might be very useful for you.

Unfortunately I can't be of much help when it comes to recommending books/articles about the rest of Communist Europe. I hope that list is still helpful for the Yugoslav side of things.