QUO VADIS CROATIA ECONOMIC SCIENCE AND ECONOMIC POLICY DURING TRANSITION

Economic science and economic policy are two segments of different entireties. Economic science is a part of science. Its makers are scientists who as a rule behave according to the criterion of struggle for scientific truth. Economic policy is a part of entire policy. Its makers are politicians who can be at thesame time scientists who behave according to the struggle for power criterion. Croatia and Slovenia started transition on conceptual bases commonly prepared by Croatian and Slovenian economists. Conversely to the same starting bases the results of transitional achievements are drastically different. These big differences in transitional achievements cannot be attributed only to thewar but also to mistakes of economic and entire policy. Slovenia created such political atmosphere which was acceptable for international community, especially European Union. Economic policy, especially privatization policy, was run on the bases made together with Croatian economists. Slovenia is at the top of countries in transition and it will be first associated to the European Union. Croatia created such political atmosphere which was not acceptable for international community, especially European Union. It was developed such macroeconomic and macropolitical environment which was favourable to a broad scale of social deviations, and that is especially because of degradation of functions of law-based on social state, and human rights and freedoms. During the ninetieth, two groups of mistakes of economic policy brought Croatian economy and society into deep economic and moral crisis. The first is related to the tycoon privatization, and the second to the wrong level of stabilization. It was developed such model of economic activity which was based on development of trade and the imports expansion, that is diametrically opposed to that one presumed by theory and practice. So far, the new government of the left centre has not suceeded to realize the unity of political power and action, aimed to the change of this model.