The paper discusses the strong output decline in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. It starts from the puzzling observation that the former CSFR, Hungary and Poland experienced a relatively similar decline in output in spite of completely different stabilization and transformation...

The first part of the paper analyzes the inflationary risks associated with price liberalization, the welfare costs of inflation and the difficulties of East European central banks in pursuing non-inflationary policies. The main obstacles are the low credibility of stabilization policies and a...

The paper examines the integration strategy laid down in the Delors Committee Report. It focuses on two issues: Is a comprehensive conceptual framework for monetary coordination in Europe needed already in Stage One, and how could it be designed? What is the rationale for a training period for...