Since May 1, 2004 the European Union's new member states (NMS) have been subject to the same fiscal rules established in the Treaty on the European Union and Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) as the old member states (OMS). The NMS entered the EU running structural fiscal deficits. More than half...

This paper summarizes the results of CASE's research project on 'Strategies for Joining the EMU' and proposes policy recommendations both for new member states (on how to manage their accession to the Eurozone) and for the European Commission, ECB and old member states (on how to manage and...

The purpose of this study is to describe the separate stages of the transformation in light of the basic accompanying fiscal difficulties and to formulate general conclusions regarding the factors which substantially affect the state of public finances and the quality of fiscal policy in...

Current developments in the design and management of fiscal rules in the European Union may have negative implications for New Member States. Loosening of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) and a growing degree of arbitrariness in its implementation reduce incentives for fiscal adjustment in...

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the various challenges facing European integration and the EU institutional architecture as result of the global financial crisis. The European integration process is not yet complete, both in terms of its content and geographical coverage. It can be...

This paper describes ways that the CEEs can speed their convergence with the EU by emulating the growth strategies of the very fast growing economies. In Section II, we introduce the VFGEs, and discuss some of the sources of their superior growth performance. In Section III, we demonstrate the...

This study examines the path of adjustments of the exchange rate system in the transforming economy of Poland. It emphasizes the relative advantage of flexible exchange rates over the currency peg. It focuses on several aspects of the exchange rate policy that have not been adequately discussed....

The paper aims to analyse the economic transition in Georgia, focusing on the stabilization and structural reform program which began in 1994, once regained political stability after 2 years of civil war. The stabilization and structural reform program promoted by IMF and World Bank was...

Fiscal stance is at the center of economic debate all over the post socialist countries. The most important issues that are more or less realized seem to be following. 1. To what extend will public sector budget deficits be monetized in the future i.e., do they eventually spell inflation?. 2....

The reform of the Czech public health system started in 1991. The main goals were the liquidation of the state's monopoly on health services, the creation of non-state health care that would include private facilities, and the introduction of multi-resource financing for health care that...