Mutating Neoliberalism: The Promotion of Italian Investors in Slovakia before and after the Global Financial Crisis

Abstract

In the context of the literature on 'actually existing neoliberalisms', this article analyzes the policies and services supporting Italian foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovakia. It identifies a group of organizations, both Slovak and Italian, which shape and deliver neoliberal pro-FDI policies. By studying such an 'investment promotion community' (IPC) before and after the global financial crisis of 2009, and during Italy's prolonged crisis, this article shows both the persistence and adaptability of neoliberal policies and institutions. In so doing, it highlights some of the transnational flows underpinning the 'domestication' of neoliberalism in Slovakia. These findings support recent literature arguing that post-crisis neoliberalism can be interpreted as a stunted Polanyian double movement, in which the state has improved some of its regulatory functions but without questioning the overarching neoliberal principles. Specifically, it shows that FDI policies and the support of Italian investors rest upon a professional community that has not changed much since the 2009 crisis. This community played a crucial role in embedding neoliberal rationalities in Slovakia and supports the persistence of this ideology in the post-crisis environment.

Intensity of foreign investment promotion and development levels in Central–Eastern European regions

“…On an organisational level the cooperation of a wide group of region's stakeholders, the organising capacity, and quality of leadership dedicated to the cause are considered pivotal in regional promotion (Tewdwr-Jones and Phelps, 2000; Fuller et al , 2003; Rainisto, 2003; World Bank, 2012; Sellar and Pástor, 2015). Effective place promotion depends on stakeholders having common grounds and rallying around the chosen strategy (Pasquinelli, 2013; Oliveira, 2015; Wæraas, 2015).…”

“…Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been considered instrumental in the restructuring of the Czech, Polish and Slovak regional economies, and hence courted by the governments and regional authorities since the beginning of the systemic transformation in the early 1990s (Turnock, 1997; Domański, 2001; Bradshaw, 2005; Bandelj et al , 2015). Accession to the European Union (EU) offered further potential for FDI attraction and resulted in the transfer of greater powers to the regional authorities which, next to National Investment Promotion Agencies (NIPAs), became key players in the inward investment promotion process (Young, 2005; Sellar and Pástor, 2015).…”

“…It also fostered wide-ranging reforms, including the reorganisation of sub-national administrative structures allowing for more autonomy and responsibility in regional and local governance (Bachtler and Downes, 2000; Blokker and Dallago, 2009; Ferry and McMaster, 2013; Ascani et al , 2017). An increasing number of the newly created regional authorities across Central-Eastern Europe soon began playing a part in place promotion by engaging in some form of foreign investment attraction activities (Young, 2005; Sellar and Pástor, 2015; Capik, 2019).…”

Transnationalizing bureaucracies through investment promotion: The case of Informest

“…Sellar, 2009 described the transition to the new services, showing the initial resistance of banks and service providers to provide services to investments perceived as “dangerous adventures” (Sellar, 2009: 335). Eventually, Italian entrepreneurs in CEE lobbied their own banks and business consultants in Italy hard enough that they began providing Italian-speaking legal, accounting, and financial services in the host countries (Sellar and Pastor, 2015). Second, these Italian firms constituted chambers of commerce and business associations abroad.…”

“…The cumulative effect of these innovations in the public and private sectors led to the emergence of an outward IP field. These agencies, associations, and consultants share a common social space, especially in key locations abroad where key public actors and private consultants became leaders of the community of Italian expatriates (see Sellar and Pastor, 2015 and Lan, Sellar and Cheng, 2016 for the description of the IP community in Bratislava, Slovakia and Shanghai, China). Their similar interests as well as their struggles are driven by the goal of providing services to firms.…”