Market-oriented Systemic Transformations in Eastern Europe

§Der Zusammenbruch der sozialistischen Wirtschaftssysteme in Osteuropa und die marktwirtschaftlichen Reformen gehören zu den meistdiskutierten ökonomischen Problemen der 90er Jahre. Dieser Band untersucht die Herausforderungen der Systemtransformation und analysiert die Bedeutung der Privatisierung, der Direktinvestitionen und der wirtschaftlichen Liberalisierung. Das Buch liefert einen fundierten Überblick über die neuen Entwicklungen in Osteuropa.Socialist economies in Eastern Europe have collapsed and embarked upon market-oriented reforms. Negative income and wealth effects as well as distribution issues make adjustment extremely difficult. Foreign economic liberalization is considered to be of central importance for a growth-oriented adjustment path in a stage of conflict-prone policy and options. In this book the causes of the demise of centrally planned economies are analyzed and the basic challenges of systemic transformation discussed. The fundamental roles of privatization and foreign investment are adressed, and politico-economic aspects of the new European developments in addition to North-South issues are analyzed. It is shown that difficult choices await decision-makers in economic policy and the business community in Eastern Europe and in leading market economies.