In the centrally planned economies of Eastern Europe, monetary policy played a subordinate role, there were no capital-market institutions and the banking system was single-tier. All this has to be changed in the transition to a market economy. The example of Hungary, which abolished the...

A whole range of economic solutions have been proposed in recent years in an endeavour to combat rising inflation. Of these, the discussion on a policy of gradualism vis-à-vis shock therapy has given rise to considerable controversy. In the light of this controversy the following article...

Central European governments see foreign direct investment (FDI) as one of the main macroeconomic mechanisms for stabilizing the volatile process of economic and political transition. What are the favorite destinations of FDI in Central Europe? What are the motives of Western investors? Why does...

The countries of Eastern Europe need to raise considerable finance not only in order to improve their balances of payments but also to adjust the structure of their economies over the long term to changed internal and external conditions. The adjustment measures require capital, but the Eastern...

The last decade of the 20th century brought about many economic and financial changes in the economies of the former communist countries. This paper provides an overview of the developments that took place in the areas of financial markets and institutions and monetary policy in three of the...