This paper discusses the possible nature of a transformation crisis. The major point is that the institutional void which the collapse of socialism has left behind is a major cause of the slump. The wealth of developed economies, be they socialist or capitalist, springs from a complicated...

Opposing recommendations with respect to key sequencing issues characterize the controversy between the advocates of the orthodox (technocratic) approach and the recently popularized political economy approach. It is suggested that the concept of credibility provides in many cases a fruitful...

In developed market economies, banks and other financial institutions perform a variety of vital tasks: they mobilise savings and allocate funds to the optimal uses, they pool investment risks, they exploit scale economies in the evaluation and monitoring of borrowers, and they match the...

Trade between Eastern and Western Europe has increased considerably in the last years. Given this market-induced development, why should it be necessary to advance institutional integration? This paper argues that Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) can potentially enhance the...

Among the stylised facts of economic transformation in East Central Europe are the following unpleasant developments-: the reemergence of fiscal deficits, the resilliance of medium inflation, and sluggish output recovery. This paper reviews the major interpretations found in the literature,...

This paper applies the arguments of institutional economics to the issue of banking system reform. Institutional reforms are of particular importance in the financial sphere because banking operations were heavily restricted under central planning and, at the same time, banks are assigned a...