The hare and the tortoise of former Czechoslovakia: reform and enterprise in the Czech and Slovak Republics

In their quest to move toward free‐market economics, different nations have adopted contrasting strategies in implementing reforms. The Czechs and Slovaks, adjacent nations with similar natural resources, were both united for a substantial period of time. Although both shared a common experience, with centralized policies under communist rule, each retained its respective cultural values. Following the “velvet divorce” of the former Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic rushed into a market economy with entrepreneurs being agents of social change. The Czech Republic became the first former member of the Warsaw Pact to be invited to join NATO and the European Union. Slovakia, in contrast, adopted a policy of slow and gradual reform, with special assistance provided to micro‐enterprise.