The events in August in the Soviet Union demonstrated drastically the difficulties faced by the countries of Eastern Europe in the transition to a market-based system. The following article analyzes the specific distoritions in their economies which this process involves. The author argues in...

The policy of reform in the former Eastern Bloc countries is relying on introducing the mechanisms of the market economy. However, the process of putting such changes into practice with concrete measures has to overcome a number of impediments which have so far hardly been considered by the...

The reform programmes of most Eastern European countries have liberalized prices and taken on the task of macroeconomic stabilization, but the formation and implementation of structural policies has largely been neglected so far. What steps should the governments of Eastern Europe take to...

In the economic literature the reasons for recession during the transformation of a planned into a market economy are still debated. The following article sets the arguments in this debate against an interpretation of the stylised facts of the transformation process in Central Eastern Europe...

The economies of Central and Eastern Europe have inherited serious burdens of environmental pollution, while their economic scope for dealing with these is limited. The transition to the market economy offers chances for improvement, but it also brings new environmental problems. How will the...

Traditional views of security policy have focused almost exclusively on defence and military topics. The process of transition in eastern Europe makes it necessary to take a much broader approach in which, for example, areas such as economic and social policy, or world trade and monetary...

The experiences of developing countries suggest that special economic zones (SEZs) might be appropriate instruments for accelerating the economic restructuring of Central and Eastern Europe. What functions could SEZs fulfil in the transformation process? What conditions must be met if they are...