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This volume provides an up-to-date account of how the process of economic transition in Eastern Europe is unfolding from the point of view of Eastern European economists assessing their native economies. The authors have personally experienced the frustrations of the previous Stalinist system of central planning and public ownership, as well as the difficulties and pitfalls of designing new systems based on markets and private ownership. The book focuses on the three countries of Eastern Europe leading the reform efforts--Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland--and points out similarities and differences in their reform strategies.
Although the stories of economic change in Eastern Europe have dominated news headlines, the real challenges of designing and maintaining viable economies are just beginning. The analysis in this volume will be of interest to those in the academic and policy-making communities.
List of contents
Introduction
The Transfer of Property RightsThe Case for Privatization in Czechoslovakia and Other Centrally Planned Economies by Jiri Hlavacek
The Role of Property Rights in the Transition of Hungary by Zoltan Bara
Poland's Property Rights Problem in the Transition by Maciej Iwanek
Transition Into a Market Economy: The Road to Privatization in Yugoslavia by Ivan Ribnikar
Macroeconomic IssuesThe Unexpected Consequenes of Traditional Macro Stabilization Policy During Transition: The Case of Poland by Jerzy Skuratowicz
Macroeconomic Policy and Institutions in the Czechoslovak Transition: The Starting Point and First Steps by Ales Bulir
The Transformation of the Czechoslovak Economy and Unemployment by Milan Sojka
Polish Trade Adjustment under Convertibility by Andrej Kondratowicz and Jan Michalek
Microeconomic Issues:Small Is Also Beautiful in the East: The Boom of Small Ventures in Hungary by Katalin Szabo
Polish Firms in Transition by Mieczyslaw W. Socha and Urszula Sztanderska
The Role of Peasants in the Systemic Transformation of the Polish Economy, 1944-1990 by Jerzy Wilkin
Bibliography
About the author
LIBBY RITTENBERG is Professor of Economics at Colorado College. She served as a Fulbright lecturer at Bosphorus and Marmara Universities in Istanbul in the mid-1980s. She has published articles on various aspects of the Turkish economy in the post-liberalization period and on transition issues in East/Central Europe.
