Standards, benchmarks, define modern life, but do they diminish the importance of diversity for progress? Arguably not, for diversity, or variety, is the essence of economic life in the sense of underlying choice; economic calculation gives numerical substance to how people make choices in their...

Disinflation has been pursued successfully in Romania in recent years. Inflation came down from over 40 per cent in 2001 to 14 per cent in 2003 and is expected to be cca 9.5 per cent in 2004. By 2007 it should come down to around 3%. The benefits of a lowinflation environment are unquestionable,...

This paper develops two stylised models of the transitional economy that challenge to some extent, the conventional approach to policy-reforms. In the first model, the absence of market-oriented institutions is responsible for the occurrence of a non-cooperative equilibrium, where the amount of...

The paper interprets the dynamics of the underground economy in a transforming environment by highlighting the role of institutions in enforcing the rules of the game and the phenomenon of strain. A basic idea is that the underground economy emerges as a means for the system to diffuse its...

This study considers strain to be the main source of arrears; strain can be linked with the structure of the economy and the size of resource misallocation. The focus here is on the real side of the economy in explaining the growth of arrears and on exploring avenues for their reduction. Arrears...

A fundamental tenet in economic theory - which was confirmed by reality - is that a command system allocates resources poorly because of the impossibility of economic calculation'. Therefore, once prices are freed and start to operate at quasi-equilibrium (market-clearing) levels, the hidden...

This paper looks at the dynamics of (dis)equilibria during post-command transition. It tries to define an optimal mix between external and internal disequilibrium and to apply this concept to the analysis of the Romanian economy. The forced adjustment of the balance of payments in the 1980s is...

Economic theory tells that a command system allocates resources poorly because of the impossibility of economic calculation. Therefore, once prices are freed and start to operate at quasi-equilibrium (market-clearing) levels, the hidden inefficiencies come into the open and a massive resource...

Romanian overall economic performance during the first ten years of transition can be termed so far as disappointing: the country has not been able to deliver steady growth, low unemployment and low inflation. This paper focuses on the effectiveness of monetary mechanisms and policies during...