Gertrude Enderle-Burcel, Dieter Stiefel, Alice Teichova (Hrsg.): Sonderband 9. „Zarte Bande” – Österreich und die europäischen planwirtschaftlichen Länder / „Delicate Relationships” – Austria and Europe’s Planned Economies (2006)
Damir Jelic: “Living in the neighbourhood” - Economic Relations between Capitalist Austria and Socialist Croatia in Historical Perspective
Damir Jelic shopping, people were heading towards Trieste in Italy due to the fact that there was a good railway connection to Trieste and a low buying capacity of shoppers. Later, from the early 1970s on and parallel to the increase in motorisation and the growing financial strength of the Croatian population, a more significant part of cross-border shoppers moved to Graz and other borderland towns where the quality of many goods was better then in Trieste. Cross-border shopping became a widespread habit in North Croatia, and during the 1980s this habit became a lifestyle - for many well-situated Croatians a shopping trip to Austria was as normal as regularly running their errands in local supermarkets. Against the background of this development, its financial effects should not be undervalued. The problem behind it and its effect on the balance of payments were discussed by socialist governments many times. Austrian life insurance and banking service During the 1980s, some Austrian insurance companies became aware of their opportunities that the Croatian insurance market had to offer, in particular regarding life insurance and pension funds. At the same time, an ongoing period of inflation and the increase in economic instability resulted in raising fears in the minds of many Croatians - fears concerning their economic future and retirement. This situation helped Austrian insurance companies immensely in taking over a significant share of the market. They were able to create whole chains of customer agents. In the course of my research, I could not find any relevant statistics but based on my estimates probably more than ten percent of the working population effected an Austrian insurance during that time. The 1980s were a period of financial instability in socialist Yugoslavia during which another specific service from Austria was offered to Croatians more frequently: the deposit service of Austrian banks. An almost constant inflation during the 1980s, a lack of confidence in domestic banks due to fearing their indiscretion, and better foreign banking services (including internationally valid credit cards) were some major reasons that influenced a lot of wealthy people and prompted them to deposit their savings in Austria. We do not have any statistical information about this habit but at least we know that during the last years of socialist Yugoslavia - when hyperinflation brought wealth to many smart and fast speculators and moneychangers - significant amounts of capital could be deposited in Austria. Tourism Tourism and travelling contributed to developing the most intensive relationships between Austria and Croatia. Most Croatian emigrant workers travelled through Austria, thus mingling with Austrians and experiencing capitalist Austria. 262
