Joining the Global Economy: Experience and Prospects of the Transition Economies

Abstract

Abstract Nearly a decade ago, a group of countries in Central Europe embarked on the road towards a market economy. The transformation process was ignited by Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, but it spread rapidly south towards Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, and Yugoslavia. A huge wave of fundamental reforms has also swept across what was then known as the Soviet Union. Today, there are, all in all, twenty-six transition economies if the term is reserved for members of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. They represent a significant part of the world economy in terms of population, area, natural resources, and economic potential.