Economy
Although Skopje had hosted economic plans since the nineteenth century, the Yugoslav communist regime, allowed the transformation of the city, which transformed it into a major industrial center. It has been the largest economic and industrial center of Macedonia, but the closure of the Greek border and the change of the economic regime after the independence of the country has severely affected the secondary and tertiary industries. Indeed, in the port of Thessaloniki, Greece, formerly exported a significant share of Macedonian products and abandoning the Communist system has precipitated the closings and bankruptcies of formerly national companies. The conflict between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians had a negative impact on the economy by making investors wary of putting their money in such a market.
The unemployment rate in the city was 14.07% in 2002 which is lower than the national unemployment rate of 19%. Also as of 2002, the city has roughly 64,000 companies. To solve its economic challenges, the city relies on integration in preferred economic areas. It is focused on the clean-up of factories, education and development of tourism programs, and the use of tax-free economic zones such as Bunardzik just outside of Skopje. In addition to services, Skopje has many factories. The most important activities are the processing of metals, chemicals, textiles, printing and others. Many notable companies based in Skopje include ArcelorMittal Skopje, Oil Rafinery, Alkaloid, Titan cement plant, and Skovin Winery among others.
The Macedonian Stock Exchange, which is the principal stock exchange in the Republic of Macedonia, is located in Skopje. It was established in 1995.
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Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“The aim of the laborer should be, not to get his living, to get “a good job,” but to perform well a certain work; and, even in a pecuniary sense, it would be economy for a town to pay its laborers so well that they would not feel that they were working for low ends, as for a livelihood merely, but for scientific, or even moral ends. Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Cities need old buildings so badly it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow without them.... for really new ideas of any kind—no matter how ultimately profitable or otherwise successful some of them might prove to be—there is no leeway for such chancy trial, error and experimentation in the high-overhead economy of new construction. Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings.”
—Jane Jacobs (b. 1916)
“Unaware of the absurdity of it, we introduce our own petty household rules into the economy of the universe for which the life of generations, peoples, of entire planets, has no importance in relation to the general development.”
—Alexander Herzen (1812–1870)