Upon his return to Croatia he worked as a journalist in Pula before moving to Zagreb, where he graduated from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

He later studied economy and social sciences in Berlin and Frankfurt, where he had gone in order to examine the original manuscripts of Matija Vlačić.

A member of Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (JAZU) since 1947, he was its Secretary General from 1958 until 1961, and in 1960 received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

[3][4] Among his other books there are Stara Pazinska Gimnazija and Puna je Pula, the latter a monograph in which Mirković combines fiction with documentary work.

[3][4] Mijo Mirković was born in Rakalj, Istria, on the Kvarner Gulf, which at the time was part of the Austro-hungarian empire.

[6] Mirković attended the high school Veliku državnu gimnaziju u Pazinu ("Royal Great State Gymnasium") in Pazin, and later in Zabreh, in the Czech Republic.

[9] Mirković had decided to go study in Frankfurt, because there were stored the manuscripts of Vlačić (Flacius), who he considered the "greatest Istrian of all time.

[3][4] Mirkovic's interest in Labin native Flacius reportedly dated back to his childhood, and it might have been transmitted to him by his mother, who was originally from Skitača, in the Labinština.

[6] In 1938 he published one of his best known works, the Chakavian collection of poems Dragi kamen (literally, "Dear Rock" and also "Precious Stone").

Mirković published a large number of university textbooks and works on economy, including Ekonomsku historiju Jugoslavije (1958).

[4] He published works on economy history and discussions in the field of foreign and domestic trade theory, agrarian economics, and industrial policy.

Such works include Trgovina i unutrašnja trgovinska politika ("Trade and Domestic Trade Policy"), 1931; Spoljna trgovinska politika ("Foreign Trade Policy"), 1932; Industrijska politika ("Industrial Policy"), 1936; Agrarna politika ("Agrarian Policy"), 1940; Ekonomska struktura Jugoslavije 1918–1941 ("Economic Structure of 1918–1941 Yugoslavia"), 1950; Ekonomika agrara FNRJ ("Economics of Agriculture of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia"), 1950; Seljaci u kapitalizmu ("Peasants and Capitalism"), 1952; Ekonomska historija Jugoslavije ("Economic History of Yugoslavia"), 1958; Uvod u ekonomiku Jugoslavije ("Introduction to the Economy of Yugoslavia"), 1959.

[2] His novel and indirect autobiographical work Tijesna zemlja: roman iz istarskog narodnog života (1946) polarizes the critics to this day.

The thematic framework of his work consists of "social peasant misery, love themes, betrayal and the destinies of emigrants," as well as "travel, the sea, the world of childhood [...] ideological choice and commitment.

Today, there is a street or square dedicated to Balota in most towns of the Kvarner and Istria, and in cities such as Rijeka, Zadar and Pula.

[11] The scientific conference Susreti na dragom kamenu ("Encounters on a Precious Stone") is held every year in Mirković's honour in his native Rakalj.