Politically, the eight Southeast European countries have been less stable than those countries in Central Europe and the Baltics which are on track for EU Accession in 2004. The former countries have achieved generally poorer economic performance since 1990, and their economic reforms have also...

There are diverse ideas about governance around the world, and this paper studies them through the following questions: (a) what does the available evidence tell us about the political and institutional requirements for sustained economic growth? (b) What do we need from the state to secure...

The paper starts by outlining some basic definitions and conceptions of restructuring, noting that in transition economies the needed scale of restructuring is substantial, with the result that unemployment, and the associated social costs, can turn out to be very high unless the process of...

This analysis of the determinants of private farmer access to rural finance in Romania has two distinct aspects: (i) a quantitative evaluation of some measurable variables for example factors affecting the amount of loans and the volume of savings; and (ii) a qualitative aspect, concentrating on...

Possible directions of industrial policy for North Korea are developed in this paper, drawing on the experience of the European transition economies and focusing on privatisation and restructuring, new business formation, and export promotion. North Korea at present is largely closed, and its...

This presentation will draw out lessons from the trade policy experience of transition economies during the 1990s. It will do so by examining what trade policy was actually pursued, covering liberalisation of trade in goods and services, liberalisation of the capital account and the approach...

Diversification, especially in the context of small, highly trade-dependent economies, has recently become quite a fashionable topic, and something that increasingly commonly forms part of the policy advice offered to low- and middle-income countries seeking to improve their economic conditions...

One of the most amazing 'events' of the last 15 plus years has been the complete transformation of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, their transition from communist rule and central planning to various forms of market-type economy. Ten of the countries have...

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the successor states have all been moving - albeit at different speeds and in different ways - towards some form of market-type economy. The transition process has been accompanied by major disruption of much existing production, and by large...

This paper takes the form of an extended literature review, outlining the key ideas that will need to be developed further in the course of the IPPG Research Programme. After an extended introduction, the next two sections are conceptual, the former elucidating key concepts and definitions, the...