Some features of economic and social „development“ of Bosnia and Herzegovina in monarchist Yugoslavia
Authors:   Faculty of Philosophy, University of Tuzla, Hadžić Senaid 
Published: June 2022

For this paper, data (unpublished and published historical sources, relevant literature, official papers, press, periodicals, etc.) were researched and presented in the content, which speaks about the characteristics and some features of economic and social „development“ of Bosnia and Herzegovina during monarchist Yugoslavia. Understanding and knowing this issue can help to understand the disproportion of unequal development of certain parts of the former common state, the attitude of central authorities towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, the causes that led to the disproportion, and monitoring the process of transformation of Bosnian society from agrarian to industrial at the transition from 19th to 20th century in monarchist Yugoslavia, and, especially, during the post - war reconstruction and the first five - year plan. That is, verified data are offered on the basis of which one can follow such a complex process for which it was necessary to consult a significant number of archival documents. Most space was given to comparing economic development and highlighting the social characteristics of Bosnia and Herzegovina with other provinces that were part of monarchist Yugoslavia. The facts show that one of the basic features of the industry of the former Yugoslavia was that there was a big difference in the level of development of certain of its parts. While the branches of light industry, especially food and textile, were relatively developed, some branches almost did not exist, or were very poorly developed: oil production, electrical industry, metallurgy, machinery, energy and others. The difference was evident in the level of development in some provinces of the former Yugoslavia. The western and northern parts (Slovenia, Croatia, Vojvodina) were significantly more industrially developed than the eastern and central parts (Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina). Thus, for example, Slovenia entered Yugoslavia with 1.325 million dinars of capital invested in industry per 1,000 inhabitants, Croatia with Slavonia and Dalmatia with 0.727 million, Serbia with 0.594 million, etc. In relation to the number of inhabitants, the highest industry was built in Slovenia, and the least next to Montenegro in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the period from 1918. to 1938, a total of 2,193 industrial and processing companies were built in Yugoslavia. Of that, 403 companies in Slovenia or 18.4%, although it accounts for 8.2% of the total population; in Croatia 635 companies or 29%, and its share in the population was 24.1%; in Bosnia and Herzegovina 129 companies or 5.88%, although its share in the total population of Yugoslavia was 16.7%. Another important feature of Yugoslav industry between the two world wars was the technical backwardness of those branches that were more or less developed. Old and worn-out machines were procured from industrialized countries, which were thrown out of the production process there. The third characteristic was the irrational placement of companies away from raw materials, roads and markets. Factories were built regardless of the raw material base, but the profit was mostly taken into account and was the driving force. A further characteristic is related to the fact that in almost all industries it was present, and in the largest and technically most modern companies, the dominant foreign capital. It forced the export of ore, wood and other raw materials and imported finished products at expensive prices. The content presented here provides relevant information on some, significant (key) events that were crucial for answering the research question.