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.

Sandor Richter

Foreword - Kazimierz Laski; introduction - Sandor Richter; the economics of transition - the transition from command to market economies in Central and Eastern Europe - first experiences and questions, K. Laski; the thorny way of transition, Friedrich Levcik; the transition from command to exchange economy - a system theoretical perspective, Riamund Dietz; specific issues of transition - privatization of big enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe - general concepts and the Hungarian experience, G. Hunya; transforming agriculture in the CSFR, Zdenek Lukas; economic transformation in Bulgaria, Ilse Grosser; the internal and external environment - the Soviet Economy before the confrontation, Peter Havlik; the external indebtedness of Yugoslavia and its federal units, F. Stiblar; East-West GDP comparisons - problems, Poland, and Hungary and the European integration process, Hubert Gabrisch; economic lessons from the newly industrializing countries of the Far East?, W. Urban.