Economic Transition in Central Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

TOMASZ MAREK MICKIEWICZ co-ordinates the Centre for the Study of Economic and Social Change in Europe and is also Senior Lecturer in Economic Restructuring at the Centre for the Study of Economic and Social Change in Europe at University College, London, UK. He is an affiliate of the CASE Institute and publishes on comparative economic systems. His previous book was on Unemployment in Transition with Janice Bell.

Fifteen years ago, twenty-seven countries in Europe and Central Asia embarked on their economic transition paths. This book discusses these questions in the context of new empirical evidence, including a critical examination of the main themes in the economics of transition literature.Fifteen years ago, twenty-seven countries in Europe and Central Asia embarked on their economic transition paths. For some, the outcome was a considerable success. Several others are still struggling to shed the inheritance of the past and to correct more recent policy mistakes. Why were post-Communist recessions so long in some countries and growth disappointing? Why was fiscal performance so different? Was democracy a factor, which facilitated reforms or rather slowed them down? This book discusses these questions in the context of new empirical evidence, including a critical examination of the main themes in the economics of transition literature.