The transition economies of Eastern Europe almost uniformly experienced a precipitous plunge in savings rates - from levels above 30 percent of GDP to levels about half that - early in the transition, before rebounding slightly. Did savings collapse because involuntary savings were eliminated...

Empirical analysis shows that democracy has facilitated economic liberalization in 25 postcommunist countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The existence of a vibrant civil society at the start of the transition has the most explanatory power in this team's regression

This ssessment of SME policy frameworks in eastern partnership countries helps support SME policy development in the eastern partnership countries through identification of strong and weak points in SME policy elaboration and implementation.