The economies of Eastern European countries, under communist rule for the last four decades or more, are presently faced with a number of interdependent but yet distinct policy issues. The issues concern the normal structural patterns for Eastern Europe, the size of transitional gaps, the choice between steady and shock approaches, the scale and scope of privatization and the form and pace of external re-integration in the world economy. The present volume is devoted to an exposition of these policy issues and the propagation of several analytical devices which are found useful. The volume reports on the construction and analysis of six Social Accounting Matrices for Eastern and Western European countries. Corresponding models featuring general equilibrium and structural restrictions for Eastern Europe are found relevant in this context. The research underlying the contributions to this volume was supported by a generous grant from the Commission of the European Communities in the context of the Community Action for Cooperation in the field of Economics (ACE).

Under free-market shock therapy, many economies of former socialist countries of Eastern Europe have declined. Why has there been so much stagnation, inflation, and de-industrialization, and what can be done to produce a turnaround? This book addresses these questions in revealing detail.

Special attention is paid to the roles of corporate governance, technological integration, the role of environmental and regional policies and the reform of the banking system.

Twenty-five years into transformation, Central and Eastern European regions have undergone substantial socio-economic restructuring, integrating into European and global networks and producing new patterns of regional differentiation and development. Yet post-socialist modernisation has not been without its contradictions, manifesting in increasing social and territorial inequalities. Recent studies also suggest there are apparent limits to post-socialist growth models, accompanying a new set of challenges within an increasingly uncertain world. Aiming to deliver a new synthesis of regional development issues at the crossroads between ‘post-socialism’ and ‘post-transition’, this book identifies the main driving forces of spatial restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe, and charts the different regional development paths which take shape against the backdrop of post-crisis Europe. A comparative approach is used to highlight common development challenges and the underlying patterns of socio-economic differentiation alike. The issues investigated within the Handbook extend to a discussion of the varied economic consequences of transition, the social structures and institutional systems which underpin development processes, and the broadly understood sustainability of Central and Eastern Europe’s current development model. This book will be of interest to academics and policymakers working in the fields of regional studies, economic geography, development studies and policy.

This book contains the main results of INDEUNIS, which is an international research project coordinated by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies and financed by the European Commission under its Sixth Framework Programme. Researchers f

This book focuses not only on economic and political transformation since the demise of communism in Eastern and Central Europe, but also on the relationships between economic organization, social patterns and institutional change. The changes in political structure and policies of economic reform have in turn resulted in changes in social institutions and patterns of social relations. The authors look at social relations under the old regimes to understand the current social transformation. They consider economic restructuring both in the context of social change and in terms of its consequences for society, using case studies from the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. The impact of economic changes on new forms of institutional arrangements, social patterns and organization are also discussed taking into account privatization, employment, social welfare, property and industrial relations. This new book will be welcomed by economists, political scientists and sociologists working in the area of transition.