Lika is the most notable example of a periphery and also the most problematic region in Croatia. This work represents research into the region's demographic development under the conditions of Croatia's polarized development up to the beginning of the 1990s and the wartime and postwar events during the last intercensus period. The spatial scheme of analysis adheres to the sub regions and contemporary local government units. The results show that Lika and all of its sub-regions were beset by demographic devastation already during the 1980s. In the current period, it is characterized by extremely inauspicious demographic features, which seriously brings into question the possibility of revitalizing this region.
This paper examines how the proposed conceptualization of Croatia's regional economic development, Koncepcija regionalnong gospodarskog razvitka Republike Hrvatske (1999), addresses the challenges of Croatia's uneven economic development. While the problems of Croatia's lagging regions have been addressed, the conceptualization contains controversies regarding what should be the guiding principles of regional policy – targeted or balanced regional economic development. The proposed conceptualization represents a mixture of neoliberal thinking about the key actors in regional economic development, principles of European Union regionalism and the socialist-era legacies. Consequently, it lacks clarity in several key aspects. A specific challenge is the existing multiciplicity of regional and socials interests as well as the limitations of regional economic development based on rigid administrative-territorial units.
Suvremeni razvoj Hrvatske opterećen je izrazitim regionalnim disparitetima. Kako su razlike u socioekonomskoj razvijenosti ključni generator prostorne pokretljivosti stanovništva, to se odražava i na atrofiju demografskih resursa slabije razvijenih područja, a na taj način i destabilizaciju njihove naseljenosti. Zbog uzajamne povezanosti gospodarskoga i demografskog razvoja, u radu su pobliže razmotreni demografski resursi kao indikator i čimbenik dispariteta u regionalnom razvoju države. Istraženi su demografski resursi 2001. i 2011. godine na tri hijerarhijske razine regionalnog razvoja i četiri prostorne kategorije prema kompozitnom indeksu razvijenosti županija 2013. godine. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da: prvo, Hrvatsku karakterizira izrazito neravnomjeran prostorni razmještaj demografskih resursa; drugo, više od polovine ukupnoga broja županija ulazi u I. kategoriju razvijenosti, a samo tri županije u IV. kategoriju razvijenosti; treće, područja IV. kategorije razvijenosti karakteriziraju povoljni demografski resursi, a područja I. kategorije slabi demografski resursi, i četvrto, strukturna i dinamička obilježja indeksa demografskih resursa jasno indiciraju specifične razvojne probleme u pojedinim dijelovima zemlje. ; According to recent research, modern development in Croatia is burdened by distinct regional disparities. As differences in socioeconomic development are the key generator of spatial mobility of the population, this is reflected in the atrophy of demographic resources of less developed areas, and consequently in the destabilization of their population. Due to the connections between economic and demographic development, the paper examines demographic resources as an indicator and factor in the disparities occurring in the regional development of the country. Demographic resources in 2001 and 2011 on three hierarchical levels of regional development and four spatial categories are explored, as well as the composite index of development of counties in 2013. The research process includes the calculation of synthetic indicators of demographic potential – the index of demographic resources (ider) and its evaluation within the typological scale of six threshold values. The research results show that: first, Croatia has a highly uneven spatial distribution of demographic resources; second, more than half the number of the counties belong to the first development category, and only three counties to the fourth development category; third, regions in the fourth development category are characterized by favorable demographic resources, while areas in the first category are characterized by weak demographic resources; and fourth, structural and dynamic characteristics of the index of demographic resources clearly indicate specific development problems in certain parts of the country.
Suvremeni razvoj Hrvatske opterećen je izrazitim regionalnim disparitetima. Kako su razlike u socioekonomskoj razvijenosti ključni generator prostorne pokretljivosti stanovništva, to se odražava i na atrofiju demografskih resursa slabije razvijenih područja, a na taj način i destabilizaciju njihove naseljenosti. Zbog uzajamne povezanosti gospodarskoga i demografskog razvoja, u radu su pobliže razmotreni demografski resursi kao indikator i čimbenik dispariteta u regionalnom razvoju države. Istraženi su demografski resursi 2001. i 2011. godine na tri hijerarhijske razine regionalnog razvoja i četiri prostorne kategorije prema kompozitnom indeksu razvijenosti županija 2013. godine. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da: prvo, Hrvatsku karakterizira izrazito neravnomjeran prostorni razmještaj demografskih resursa; drugo, više od polovine ukupnoga broja županija ulazi u I. kategoriju razvijenosti, a samo tri županije u IV. kategoriju razvijenosti; treće, područja IV. kategorije razvijenosti karakteriziraju povoljni demografski resursi, a područja I. kategorije slabi demografski resursi, i četvrto, strukturna i dinamička obilježja indeksa demografskih resursa jasno indiciraju specifične razvojne probleme u pojedinim dijelovima zemlje. ; According to recent research, modern development in Croatia is burdened by distinct regional disparities. As differences in socioeconomic development are the key generator of spatial mobility of the population, this is reflected in the atrophy of demographic resources of less developed areas, and consequently in the destabilization of their population. Due to the connections between economic and demographic development, the paper examines demographic resources as an indicator and factor in the disparities occurring in the regional development of the country. Demographic resources in 2001 and 2011 on three hierarchical levels of regional development and four spatial categories are explored, as well as the composite index of development of counties in 2013. The research process includes the calculation of synthetic indicators of demographic potential – the index of demographic resources (ider) and its evaluation within the typological scale of six threshold values. The research results show that: first, Croatia has a highly uneven spatial distribution of demographic resources; second, more than half the number of the counties belong to the first development category, and only three counties to the fourth development category; third, regions in the fourth development category are characterized by favorable demographic resources, while areas in the first category are characterized by weak demographic resources; and fourth, structural and dynamic characteristics of the index of demographic resources clearly indicate specific development problems in certain parts of the country.
U radu je pobliže razmotreno pulsiranje razvoja hrvatskoga zadrugarstva tijekom više od 150 godina duge tradicije njegova djelovanja, recentni razvojni trendovi i prostorno diferencirana razvijenost u suvremenom razdoblju. Rezultati pokazuju da je, unatoč dugoj tradiciji, hrvatsko zadrugarstvo u recentnom razdoblju suočeno s nizom razvojnih problema. Temeljni je uzrok takva stanja neodgovarajuća pravna regulativa – neusklađenost zakona o zadrugama i suodnosnih zakona koji su relevantni za funkcioniranje zadružnoga poduzetništva, što se nepovoljno odražava na sve zadružne sektore, posebno na poljoprivredno zadrugarstvo kao njegov najrazvijeniji sektor. Rezultat je toga marginalan doprinos zadrugarstva gospodarsko-socijalnom razvoju demografski sve više destabiliziranih ruralnih područja države. ; This paper closely examines the fluctuations in development of agricultural cooperatives in Croatia during their 150-year-long tradition, as well as recent development trends, and spatially-differentiated development in the contemporary era. The results show that, despite the long tradition, contemporary Croatian cooperatives have been faced with a series of development problems. The main cause of that situation is inadequate legislation - a poorly adjusted law on cooperatives and correlative laws that are relevant for the functioning of cooperative entrepreneurship. This reflects unfavourably in all cooperative sectors, specifically agricultural cooperatives as its most developed sector. This has resulted in a marginal contribution of cooperatives to the socioeconomic development of the nation's demographically ever more destabilised rural areas.
U radu su pobliže istraženi teritorijalna kohezija i politika ruralnoga razvoja Europske unije, regionalne razlike u razvijenosti zadrugarstva te njegov prostorno diferenciran utjecaj na socijalno-ekonomski razvoj Hrvatske. Rezultati potvrđuju važnost zadrugarstva kao čimbenika teritorijalne kohezije te visok stupanj pozitivne korelacije između zaostajanja u regionalnom odnosno ruralnom razvoju i razvijenosti zadružnoga sektora. Zadrugarstvo najviše utječe na regionalni razvoj u Južnoj Hrvatskoj, tj. Dalmaciji (posebno na socijalni razvoj) i Istočnoj Hrvatskoj (posebno na gospodarski razvoj). Najveći utjecaj na ruralni razvoj zadrugarstvo ima u županijama s najvećim udjelom jedinica lokalne samouprave (upravnih gradova i općina) s indeksom razvijenosti ispod 75 % državnoga prosjeka, prije svega u Vukovarsko-srijemskoj i Osječko-baranjskoj županiji. ; This paper closely examines the territorial cohesion and rural development policies of the European Union, regional differences in the level of development of the cooperative system, and its spatially-differentiated influence on the social and economic development of Croatia. The results confirmed the importance of the cooperative system as a factor of territorial cohesion, and the high level of positive correlation between lagging behind in regional and rural development, and the level of development of the cooperative system. The cooperative system has had the greatest influence on regional development in Southern Croatia/Dalmatia (especially on social development) and in Eastern Croatia (especially on economic development). It has had the highest impact on rural development in counties with the largest share of local self-government units (administrative towns and municipalities) with a development index below 75% of the national average – primarily in Vukovar-Srijem and Osijek-Baranja Counties.
