> Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2000 > > U.S. Steel's Plunge Into Slovakia Reflects an Urgent Need to Grow > > By ROBERT GUY MATTHEWS Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ..... > After Czechoslovakia split into two countries in 1993, the Czech Republic > went on to become an economic power in Eastern Europe, while Slovakia was > saddled with the fading industrial factories. For the next five years, > under Vladimir Meciar, Slovakia's embrace of democracy was patchy, and its > move toward a market economy was slowed by the government's cronyism and > fiscal mismanagement. This is an ideological proposition. That is, the Czech Republic endeared itself to western business and political interests by spouting the correct rhetoric, while the rhetoric coming out of Slovakia was not as forthcoming. Politically, both countries are emerging from a decade of profound corruption (into normal corruption, of course). Economically, the Czech Republic is in a far worse state, as the data clearly show. It is interesting that, in their analytical moments, economists generally agree that Slovakia is doing better than the CR, but for public consumption the myth of the Czechs as all-star free-market heroes must be upheld. Peter
