ABSTRACT
When the Slovak Republic became an independent state at the end of 1992, outside commentators were very pessimistic about its economic prospects both in absolute terms and relative to those of the Czech Republic. It was the Czech Republic that appeared to have all the advantages in terms of industrial structure, foreign direct investment and tourism inflows. In addition, it was the Czech Republic that appeared to be committed to wide-ranging economic reform at the microeconomic level whereas scepticism about rapid privatization and micro reform was a major driving force for the leading proponents of an independent Slovakia.
