In 1990, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe began or accelerated their transition to a market economy. This book addresses among others the following questions: (I) What are the fundamental causes of the collapse of the Soviet-type economic systems? (II) What major steps could be taken to make the transition process to a market economy irreversible and less painful? (III) What can be learned from West Germany's outstandingly successful postwar economic reforms? (IV) Is the issue of gradualism versus shock therapy still relevant? (V) If macroeconomic stability is a precondition, what is the role of privatization, deregulation and trade liberalization? (VI) What is the optimal sequence of steps in privatization, deregulation, liberalization and currency convertibility? (VII) How quickly may privatization be achieved? (VIII) Is the USSR really a special case and, if so, in what respects and for what fundamental reasons? (IX) How long in the transition period may the initial phase of disorder, chaos and decline last? (X) What can be learned from the experiences gathered so far in the major ex-communist countries?

`The book is well written and clearly structured, bringing together much dispersed material. The most interesting part of the book is the case study of the Czech engineering firm CKD. The case study gives an insight into the continuing processes of transition: transition is a process, rather than a jump from Socialism to capitalism. The author provides solid evidence on the ways in which adjusting to the market has proved painful, and in the end unsuccessful for CKD, which has been merged with another firm. Overall, Transformation at Work provides a valuable insight into the realities of the transition process at the enterprise level′ - Employee Relations In this book, Anna Pollert questions the values hidden in the burgeoning literature on `transformation′, and addresses the main concerns arising from these. In exploring the key issues of post-communist transformation, the author discusses important theoretical issues about the nature of change and continuity, such as historical, socio-economic and political effects of transformation, the broad problems of how workers and their organizations respond to change from command to capitalist economies, and case studies of how managers, workers and trade unionists experience these changes within their organizations. Transformation at Work explores the key issues of post-communist transformation in Eastern Europe. The author discusses important aspects of the nature of change and continuity including: historical, socio-economic and political effects; how workers and their organizations respond to change from command to capitalist economies; and how managers, workers and trade unionists experience change within their organizations.

Some rapid and complex changes have taken place during recent years in the former Soviet Union. These incredible changes occurred not only in political policy and behavior, but also in social life and within framework of economic rules, especially the aspects concerning the key factor of new and advanced economies, which is based on Innovation Technology (IT). In fact, IT is becoming to be a key factor or, at least, the enzymatic factor necessary for activating asolid economy, based on advanced products and manufacturing, and with an incredible and unforeseeable impact on human lifestyle and wellbeing. This tool of development coupled to a world-wide movement towards a post-industrial era, with poorly defined economic, social and cultural boundaries is rapidly gaining support all over the world, supporting and creating a "global market". This globalization, intended as market expansion and flooding, is really a deeper and more complex phenomenon, surely mainly deriving from a cultural movement (the origin and aim ofthe use of IT as a tool for World Globalization). The process of globalization of the Innovation Market, which might have originated the economy failure of Eastern Europe with a risk of disintegration, is really the only way to solve the problem; therefore, the integration within the whole of Europe should be based on the paradigm of an Innovation Policy.

A collection of papers assessing what has been accomplished and the obstacles that remain in the transition from communism to capitalism in East-Central Europe. The papers are arranged within four sections: the transition to market economies and political pluralism; Western assistance and integration; regional relations; and country studies. Each section begins with an overview. This assessment was initiated by a formal request from the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress to the Congressional Research Service. Some of the papers were discussed in May 1994 at a conference in Washington, DC. A compilation of statistical material prepared for the conference is included as an appendix. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Now that the euphoria over political change has died down, the formerly socialist countries of Eastern and Central Europe are facing an economic crisis. The contributors to this well-established annual publication consider the key factors affecting the economic transition process, analyzing possible strategies for successful reform including the use of "shock theory" to accelerate the process. As well as examining various country-specific problems, the authors explore the status of the Central European countries seeking integration with the European Economic Community, and ask whether all the former socialist countries might do well to adopt some of the economic development strategies used so successfully by the nations of Southeast Asia.

Offering a cross-comparative study of the transition regimes of the countries formerly characterized by Soviet central planning, Pomfret (economics, U. of Adelaide) argues that the imposition of the Washington consensus has been a qualified success across the board. A major theme of the work is whether economists were able to accurately predict the economic behavior and results of the transition economies and whether they were able to learn from discrepancies. His analysis of this is surprisingly positive, although the arguments for the immediate benefits of mass privatization are noted to be deficient (in hindsight for Pomfret). Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR