Towards a Market Economy in Central and Eastern Europe

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

   PDF

2. Some General Lessons from West Germany’s Postwar Experiences

   • Herbert Giersch

   Pages 1-21

3. West Germany’s Economic Reforms of 1948: The Lessons for Central and Eastern Europe Today

   • Holger Schmieding

   Pages 23-53

4. How It All Began: Sources of the Recent Breakdown of the Soviet Economic System

   • Jan Winiecki

   Pages 55-76

5. Main Obstacles to Rapid Economic Transformation of Eastern Europe: The Czechoslovak View

   • Václav Klaus

   Pages 77-91

6. The Polish Program of Stabilization

   • Karol Lutkowski

   Pages 93-108

7. Experiences and Prospects: The Case of Hungary

   • Tamás Bauer

   Pages 109-123

8. Experiences and Prospects: The Case of the USSR

   • Vladimir Zuev

   Pages 125-142

9. Experiences and Prospects: The Case of the GDR

   • Heinz-Dieter Haustein

   Pages 143-154

10. German Economic Integration in a European Perspective

    • Hans Willgerodt

    Pages 155-168

11. Back Matter

    Pages 169-169

    PDF

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?

• Deregulierung
• Liberalisierung
• Marktwirtschaft
• Privatisierung
• deregulation
• economic integration
• economic systems
• macroeconomics
• privatisation
• stability

• Kiel Institute of World Economics, Kiel 1, Germany

  Herbert Giersch

Policies and ethics