The construction sector in the Socialist Republic of Croatia with emphasis on the Karlovac district (1964–1965)

Abstract

The success of the construction sector in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Republic of Croatia had a significant impact on the growth and development of other economic activities. In the period from 1964 to 1965, this sector faced numerous challenges, such as unfavourable relations with investors, a lack of long-term investment policy plans, frequent changes in the scope and structure of projects, and a lack of project continuity and necessary production materials. There was also a disconnect between the producers and the investors in the design of building projects, which reduced the opportunities to apply more modern techniques and technologies. Therefore, the costs of implementing project activities increased considerably. The construction sector in the Socialist Republic of Croatia in the period from 1964 to 1965 was characterised by a relatively low level of development of both production capacities and employees, which had a predominantly negative effect on the distribution of labour.

Employing quantitative and interpretative-descriptive methods and drawing on unpublished archival material and the relevant historiographic literature, the author presents the general state and trends in the construction sector in the Socialist Republic of Croatia from 1964 to 1965. The article aims to answer the question of how the general conditions in this economic sector influenced its performance in the Karlovac district. In addition, based on statistical microeconomic indicators, it provides insight into the position of the construction sector in the Karlovac district in relation to the situation at the federal and republican levels. The relevance of the Karlovac district in this article is primarily reflected in the fact that, according to available archival material, fifty-one industrial enterprises operated in this area in the mid-1960s. The efficiency of their operations was largely determined by the positive developments in the construction sector. Regardless of all the problems that significantly affected the success of this economic sector in the Karlovac district, this area was, in terms of total income growth, one of the most successful in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The second part of the article provides a detailed analysis of three construction companies—Lika, Korana, and Novotehna—for which archival material was found, and whose work significantly influenced the success of the construction sector and the economy of Karlovac as a whole.