ABSTRACT
Slovenia lags behind highly developed small countries, yet it is running ahead of many developed and all former socialist countries in terms of export orientation. Slovenia is one of the youngest European countries, having become independent on 25 June 1991 after the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). Slovenia's independence has its origin in a referendum for independence held on 23 December 1990 at which 88.5 per cent of the population voted for independence. Within Yugoslavia, Slovenia was the most developed and outward-oriented republic. Foreign direct investment started in Slovenia in 1967 when a quasi-equity joint ventures law was passed in Yugoslavia, the first in any socialist country after the Second World War. In spite of gradually increasing the use of nominal rates for monetary policy instruments by the Bank of Slovenia, the voluntary deindexation process has been very slowly picked up by other economic agents.
