Overview: Hopes tears and transformation / Nicholas Barr and Ralph W. Harbison -- The role of government in a market economy / Nicholas Barr -- The inheritance / Saul Estrin -- The forces driving change / Nicholas Barr -- Constraints on change / Nicholas Barr, Stanislav Gomulka, and Igor Tomes...

This book summarizes social policy reform during the transition and European Union accession and analyses the social policy challenges which continue to face both old and new member states. Specifically, the book amplifies two sets of arguments. First, social policy under communism was in...

Intro -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- THE AUTHORS -- 1 From Transition to Accession -- The Logic of Transition -- The Process of Accession -- Beyond Accession -- 2 The Course of Transition -- From Output Collapse to Recovery -- Institutional Developments -- Living Standards and Poverty -- Conclusions...