A Socialist Developing Country in a Western Capitalist Club: Yugoslavia and the OEEC/OECD, 1955–1980

Abstract

Yugoslavia’s accession to the OEEC/OECD as an observing member was primarily motivated by concerns that the deepening of the process of Western European integration would have an adverse effect on trade with Yugoslavia´s most important trading partners. While Western powers were willing to associate Yugoslavia with a core Western economic institution, the Yugoslav authorities realized in the early 1960s that relations with the OECD could not compensate for staying outside the Western European economic trading areas (EEC and EFTA). Instead, the Yugoslav participation in the OECD became more of a means to engage with Western policy-makers, exchange views on global trade and development, and gain insights into economic policies and benefit from the organization’s expertise in various fields.