The transformation of former socialist countries from almost entirely state ownership to almost entirely private ownership is one of the key events in economic history. Unlike most other socialist countries, privatisation in Slovenia was carried out using a model in which mass (certificate) privatisation and management and employee buyout were equal components. In the context of mass privatisation, the most important role was played by the authorised privatisation funds (PIDs), whose role and importance are the subject of this thesis. This has not been sufficiently explored by the professional community until now. As a result, the general, public assessments of the contribution of PIDs to Slovenian privatisation are generalised and, for the most part, strongly negative.
The thesis aims to collect and analyse in one place all the most relevant data related to the establishment, operation and transformation of PIDs. It places them chronologically in the process of transition and assesses them in terms of their contribution to the strategic and specific objectives of the designers of the transition and privatisation processes in Slovenia. As the most important part of mass privatisation, PIDs contributed to a more efficient ownership and corporate structure of companies and thus to a faster establishment of a market economy. They also played a very positive role in the development of the capital market. Their contribution to ensuring a fair distribution of social property has, for several objective reasons explained in the thesis, been neglected or even turned strongly negative because of some publicly known deviant cases.
The thesis is focused on the period 1994-2004, i.e. the years between the establishment and the formal abolition of the PIDs. In order to clarify the socio-economic situation and the long-term consequences of the PIDs, it also party focuses on the period before and after the PIDs. In addition to the PIDs themselves, some institutions closely linked to the PIDs functioning, such as the DZU, Securities Market Agency (ATVP) and the stock exchange, are also the subject of the study.
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