Self-starter is falling behind

Slovenia is the most developed economy in eastern Europe, and provides perhaps the most interesting test of whether the region’s industry can reorganize to survive the rigours of the free market. Unlike the rest of eastern Europe, Slovenia rejected the notion that multinational investment was a prerequisite for restructuring. Instead, employees and management were allowed to decide how their companies were privatized, and were allocated shares at big discounts. The government believed that restructuring and recapitalization should take place in the secondary market ­ with the employees and other domestic shareholders playing the leading role.