In postsocialist societies, the character of economic behavior is determined in the short run by the decay of the party-state's structures. The salutary effects of liberalization are felt only somewhat later; in the interim, actors on the economic scene must shoulder the sizable costs associated...

Although the official goals with regard to price formation have become increasingly market-oriented in Hungary, the price system itself has retained a bureaucratic character. After the transfer of tasks from the branch ministries, the behavior of the Price Office is characterized by a mixture of...