Tatra Tiger

"Tatra Tiger" is a nickname that refers to the economy of Slovakia following the ascendance of a right-wing coalition in September 2002 which engaged in a program of liberal economic reforms. The name "Tatra Tiger" derives from the local Tatra mountain range.

In 2004 and 2005, Slovakia had one of the highest gross domestic product growth rates in the European Union after some of the Baltic countries, reaching 6%. In 2006, the year-over-year growth amounted to an unexpected 9.8% in the 3rd quarter, which helped to increase the overall annual economy growth expectation for 2006 from 6%-6.5% to 8.2%. This 9.8% growth (a low estimate) can be partly ascribed to the launch of production at a new Peugeot SA plant. The growth came as a surprise to local analysts, given that another big foreign investor, Kia, will only launch its production in late 2006.

However, public polling shows that despite the resultant high growth rates, the public does not universally approve of the reforms, because they are associated with a drastic loss of the (previously high) government programs (reform of the previously government-run health system, complete reform of the pension system, etc.), the replacement of progressive taxation with a flat tax, rapid changes of laws and other legal regulations, and rising property prices. Moreover, the unemployment jumped to very high levels immediately after the reforms began in 1998, although it decreased back to its 1998 level in 2006.

ee also

* Four Asian Tigers: the original economic "tigers"—Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan—that experienced a period of high growth and industrialization between the 1960s and 1990s.
* Celtic Tiger: Ireland's nickname during its period of rapid growth between the 1990s and 2007.
* Baltic Tiger: a reference to the rapid economic growth of the Baltic states in the 2000s.
* Nordic Japan: Finland's nickname given to it because of the success of its information technology sector since the 1990s.
* Carpat Tiger: Romania's nickname during its period of rapid growth between the 2000s and 2008. These high growth rates are expected to continue for many years to come.
* Balkan Tiger: A nicknamed applied to Serbia and previously Bulgaria because of the recent rapid growth.
*Nordic Tiger: Norway's nickname during its period of rapid growth between the 1990s and 2008.

References

* "A new Direction for Slovak politics?", "Foreign Report", Jane's Intelligence, December 12, 2005
* [http://foia.state.gov/MMS/postrpt/pr_view_all.asp?CntryID=132 Post Report: Slovak Republic] , U.S. Department of State, 12 May 2005
* "Slovakia's awakening: 'Tatra Tiger' is born", by Matthew Reynolds, "New York Times", December 29, 2004