industrijalizacija

Industrijalizacija is the process by which an economy shifts from agriculture and cottage industry toward manufacturing and large-scale industry, accompanied by urbanization, new technologies, and changes in labor and institutions. The term is used in South Slavic languages and corresponds to the English word industrialization.

Historically, industrialization began in Britain in the late 18th century and spread to Europe, North America, and parts of Asia. It featured mechanization, steam power, and later electricity, the growth of factories, and widespread railway networks, which transformed production and daily life.

Key drivers include capital investment, energy access, skilled labor, and supportive institutions. State policies—tariffs, subsidies, infrastructure, and education—often facilitated growth, while private entrepreneurship and finance funded factory expansion and technological adoption.

Impacts are mixed: increased output and living standards alongside social disruption, environmental effects, and urban crowding. Labor relations evolved, with new forms of work and organization. Policy responses typically address training, social protection, and modernization of infrastructure.

Global patterns vary. Some countries pursued rapid, export-led industrialization; others used import substitution or combined state and market approaches. In many advanced economies, manufacturing share has declined in recent decades as services rise, a process sometimes termed deindustrialization.

As a concept, industrijalizacija denotes a long-term structural transformation rather than a single event and is used in the Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian linguistic sphere to discuss industrialization in historical and comparative contexts.