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This paper provides an analysis of the practical implications of the concept of solidarity economy and the elements of public policies that affect the solidarity economy in Croatia. In a broader sense, solidarity is a common component of economic behaviour. In a narrower sense, solidarity refers to a set of economic practices that meet the criteria of balancing economic, social and environmental sustainability, joint ownership and participatory governance. Solidarity economy supports the construction and maintenance of common economic goods, which may occur within legal entities, as well as in contractual relations or informal cooperation. Solidarity economy is close to the concept of social economy, and significantly different from collaborative (sharing) economy. Public policies that encourage solidarity-based economic practices have their origins in the welfare state regime and the level of solidarity in society, which is followed by ideologies, strategies and activities of political and economic actors. The social contributions of the solidarity economy and the risks to which it is exposed justify state intervention in this area, which can be reflected in regulation and institutional, financial and tax support to its actors and processes. Public policies in Croatia generally do not recognise the importance of the social and solidarity economy and its actors, such as cooperatives and social enterprises. Although the recognition of possible contributions of the social and solidarity economy to society and the economy in Croatia is growing, the incentive framework is incomplete and insufficient, which is reflected in the results and future prospects of this sector. Key words: solidarity, solidarity economy, public policy, cooperatives, social enterprises.

Članak nastoji analizirati klijentelističke prakse u Hrvatskoj te utvrditi elemente (dis)kontinuiteta između tih praksi i srodnih praksi u socijalizmu. Klijentelizam definiramo kao uvjetovanu razmjenu političke potpore, utjecaja i dobara unutar mreže, s ciljem ostvarenja političke hegemonije i selektivne raspodjele materijalnih koristi. Klijentelističke mreže reproduciraju se instrumentima izvlačenja rente, koji donose veće koristi njihovoj jezgri, i legitimacijskim instrumentima, koji raspodjeljuju manje koristi širim segmentima biračkog tijela koji podupiru hegemonijsku vlast. Prvu skupinu čine upravljanje ljudskim i materijalnim resursima u javnom sektoru te instrumentalizacija javnih institucija, a drugu socijalna politika i ideologija. Zarobljavanje države u Hrvatskoj djelomično ima korijene u socijalizmu. To vrijedi za kadrovsku politiku u javnom sektoru, instrumentalizaciju javnih institucija i ideološko legitimiranje poretka. No tržište i privatno vlasništvo tada su bili ograničeni, a socijalna politika potpomognuta egalitarnom ideologijom raspodjeljivala je dio plodova gospodarskog razvoja. Pomak prema višestranačju i tržišnom gospodarstvu u kontekstu rata, državnog osamostaljenja i nefunkcionalnih institucija učvrstio je postojeće mehanizme zarobljavanja države i potaknuo oblikovanje novih.

Social enterprises in many countries face a lack of legal recognition and insufficient institutional and financial support. Ecosystems that support their emergence and development are thus weak. Social enterprises respond to important societal challenges that are relevant to multiple stakeholders at different territorial levels (local, national and international). This multi-territorial nature of stakeholder networks in which social enterprises are embedded is also related to the ecosystem gaps, which prompt social enterprises to overcome weaknesses at one territorial level by utilising opportunities at other levels, and thereby seek overall viability and impact on society. The paper outlines a conceptual framework for the process of managing stakeholder networks within social enterprise ecosystems. That entails identification of key stakeholders (defined by their level of salience, based on Mitchell, Age and Wood, 1997) and the material and symbolic resources a social enterprise obtains from them and/or provides to them. The framework is applied to a case study of the Green Energy Cooperative (GEC) from Croatia. GEC was founded to facilitate local communities and citizens in the planning, development, management and financing of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency projects. However, given the underdevelopment of the relevant ecosystem in Croatia, fulfilling this 'localised' mission also simultaneously required strategic engagement of GEC with policymakers at the national level, as well as with EU and other international funding sources and advocacy organisations. Each of these territorial dimensions (related to local projects, national policies and international funding and advocacy) involves relationships with multiple stakeholders which need to be developed and maintained over time, if viability and impact are to be achieved.

Ovaj rad ima za cilj ispitati elastičnost potražnje za uvozom u Republici Hrvatskoj na promjene u dohotku i relativnim cijenama, istovremeno dopuštajući vremensko variranje parametara potražnje za uvozom. Uzorak podataka sastoji se od kvartalnih podataka vremenskih serija između prvog kvartala 2000. i trećeg kvartala 2018. godine. Korištenjem modela prostora stanja s vremenski različitim parametrima dobivene su i testirane procjene pristupa. Rezultati su pokazali trajnu i visoku dohodovnu elastičnost uvozne potražnje u Hrvatskoj. Međutim, uloga relativnih cijena promijenila se u promatranom razdoblju i na kraju se ne može razlikovati od nule. Rezultati ovog istraživanja podržali su hipotezu konvergencije cijena u Hrvatskoj prema cijenama u zemljama članicama Europske monetarne unije. Nadalje, rezultati nisu pokazali značajan utjecaj na potražnju za uvozom u Republici Hrvatskoj nakon ulaska Hrvatske u Europsku uniju. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da bi, zbog relativno visoke dohodovne elastičnosti uvozne potražnje i konvergencije uvoznih cijena, trebalo poticati proizvodnju inovativnih i sofisticiranih proizvoda. ; The paper aims to examine Croatian import demand elasticities to changes in income and relative prices while allowing time variation in parameters of import demand. Data sample consist of quarterly time series data over the period 2000 q1 -2018 q3. Following state space model with time-varying parameters approach estimates were obtained and tested. The results revealed persistent and high income elasticity of import demand in Croatia. However, the role of relative prices has changed over the observed period and eventually cannot be distinguished from zero. The findings from this research supported the hypothesis of prices convergence in Croatia towards the prices within European Monetary Union member countries. Furthermore, results found no significant effect on Croatian import demand when Croatia joined the European Union. The research results indicate that, due to a relatively high income elasticity of import demand and convergence of import prices, production of innovative and sophisticated products should be facilitated.

In their development of national systems of innovation, catching up countries with low or moderate innovation performance usually focus on top-down approach and centralized implementation of innovation policy instruments. Given the limited resources and knowledge, there is a strong rationale for such an approach. However, this paper explores opportunities for a bottom-up approach based on co-ordination of different projects based on an evolving collaboration of research institutions, companies and local administration. Under certain conditions, a dense collaboration network offers a potential for a strong contribution to the national innovation system. In Croatia, such opportunities emerge from access to European Structural and Investments Funds (ESIF) and Horizon 2020 which complement limited availability of national sources.The paper is built upon two methodological pillars – an analysis of innovation policy in Croatia (mostly based on RIO reports) and a case study of the City of Zagreb as a key contributor to innovative activities. The paper analyses the actual and potential contribution of the innovation system of the City of Zagreb to the implementation of the national innovation strategy and smart specialisation strategy. Based on ongoing collaboration between the University of Zagreb, the Ruđer Bošković Institute (the largest public research institute in Croatia) and local administration, key R&D and innovation (RDI) projects which are co-financed by ESIF and business sector are being gradually interconnected, with a potential to integrate them into a mutually reinforcing ecosystem. Although the projects are developed locally, their approval, monitoring and evaluation are done at the national and EU levels. Initial results indicate that local triple helix initiatives in key cities/regions contribute to bridging the gap between science and industry, foster an increased #of proposed and implemented RDI projects and enable a stronger ecosystem for innovative start-ups. That also contributes to the effectiveness of the national system of innovation, as well to the implementation of the innovation policy. However, the strength of these effects is likely to vary and depend upon specific conditions in a given environment. To be successful, such initiatives need a critical mass of resources and existing linkages. However, there are also risks and limitations involved. Too strong reliance on external financing may lead to suboptimal choice of projects, and synergies with Horizon 2020 and market-driven innovation are sometimes difficult to achieve and sustain over time. Furthermore, the development of the start-up population is not necessarily linked to RDI, as their development patterns tend to differ and have shorter time horizons. Finally, the success of local triple helix partnerships can also lead to disproportionate utilisation of ESIF by metropolitan regions and thereby can increase regional disparities within a country.