Chapter 2 of the volume analyzes the political economy of privatization in connection with changing industrial relations, showing how these processes acted as the first step in the state’s de-risking of real estate development.
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The authors examine how, under the pressure of international organizations, the Romanian state facilitated primitive capital accumulation through massive privatization programs during the first two decades of capitalist transformations after 1990. We conclude that after its winding road had stabilized, privatization contributed to the emergence of real estate development advancing as capital accumulation through dispossession. Case studies from Brașov (Central Development Region) and Craiova (South-West Oltenia) illustrate how this new business emerged on the ruins of privatized industrial enterprises, while the former industrial platforms could be rented, traded, or used as collateral for bank loans. They also show how the privatization and dismantling of factories opened up vacant lots and buildings in urban areas with good infrastructure for capital investment.