DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES IN THE INDUSTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA DURING THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 21st CENTURY

Abstract

The first decade of the 21st century in the Republic of Serbia is characterized by numerous changes of the economic nature. It was a period of accelerated reform based on the neoliberal concept, i.e. a period of transition to the spontaneous unfolding of economic flows. This concept should have guided the economy of the Republic of Serbia towards the market economy, enabled relatively high rates of economic growth, has raised its level of competitiveness and, has ultimately, prepared it for the market competition. However, it can be concluded that the ten-year application of this concept has directed the economy of the Republic of Serbia in a completely different direction: towards foreign savings, disproportionate growth of the sector of non-tradable goods and services and overheating of domestic demand as the main driver of growth. The inability to autonomously or partially autonomously create their own sources of growth, on the one hand, and the continuation of the foreign borrowing spiral, on the other, were key synthetic indicators of the current state of the economy. Therefore, the Republic of Serbia was forced to change its economic growth model. According to many opinions, development processes in industry, its position in the newly formed economic structure of the country, as well as structural changes within the industry itself, has been one of the key causes of the negative developmental trends in the economy of the Republic of Serbia during the first decade of the 21st century. With this in mind, this paper analyzes the development processes in the industry of the Republic of Serbia during the first decade of the 21st century, that is, the results of the aforementioned processes, namely: changes in the structure of industry, results of privatization of industry, trends in employment in industry, and developments in foreign trade industry.