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This useful volume features surveys of 10 of the 12 members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the successor organisation to the USSR. . . I heartily recommend this book for all economists interested in the economic transition of the CIS. Roy Gardner, Comparative Economic Studies The country studies (and the editors introduction) contain a wealth of statistical information that will be appreciated by many readers. . . Those interested in a broad overview will focus on the introduction and the conclusion, where the editors offer their synthesis of the ten country studies. This synthesis in itself is an important achievement that summarizes the wealth of country findings in a com...
Examines the institutional developments in 28 transition economies over the past two decades and concludes that, contrary to popular belief, institutions were not neglected; while personalities mattered as much as policies for outcomes, getting the basic institutions right was the most important aspect of a successful transition.
In the last three decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall, there has been a vast amount of study looking at transforming the planned economy to a market economy from both theoretical and empirical aspects. This book provides an overview and insight into transition economies in the recent decades and looks at key economics topics from the so-called “transition strategy debate” to environmental reform. The book also includes an analytical review and meta-analysis of the existing literature. By integrating theoretical discussions and synthesizing empirical findings in a systematic manner, this book may help to enlighten the debate on the timing, speed, and policy sequence of economic transition. The book will particularly appeal to researchers, policy makers, other practitioners, and under- and post-graduate students who are interested in transition economies in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Southeast Asia, and China. It aims to be read as an advanced reader.
With the increasing recognition across the world of the damaging effects of corruption on economic growth and social stability. This report seeks to unpack the varied practices of corruption to identify and compare different patterns of the transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It then draws out lessons for tailoring anticorruption strategies to address the variation across the region in an effort to target reforms more effectively. The report draws on many sources of ongoing research and lessons of experience, including the World Bank's work in this area. It is intended as a contribution to the growing policy dialogue on developing practical strategies for reducing corruption.
Ten countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic (CEECs) are candidates to join an enlarged European Union (EU) in the years to come. The ten are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. This enlargement will bring many opportunities to the both the EU and the candidate countries. For the EU it will bring enhanced weight and influence. For the candidate countries it should mean an improvement of their long term growth prospects by providing access to an open single market. The accession process is providing the impetus for the acceleration of much needed economic, political, institutional and social reform...
How does democracy work in the new democracies of Eastern Europe? Do the people actually rule as one would expect in a democracy or do the legacies of communism and the constraints of the transition weaken popular control? This book presents a framework for conceptualizing and measuring democratic quality and applies this framework to multiple countries and policy areas in the region. It defines democratic quality as the degree to which citizens are able to hold leaders accountable for their performance and keep policy close to their preferences. Its surprising conclusion, drawn from large-N statistical analyses and small-N case studies, is that citizens exercise considerable control over their rulers in Eastern European democracies. Despite facing difficult economic circumstances and an unfavorable inheritance from communism, these countries rapidly constructed relatively high-quality democracies.
The Kurdistan region of Iraq is facing an economic and humanitarian crisis as a result of the influx of Syrian refugees which began in 2012 and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 2014. The region's population increased by 28 percent over a short period, placing strains on the local economy, host community, and access to public services. This book provides national and regional policy makers with a technical assessment of the impact and stabilization costs needed for 2015 associated with the influx of refugees and IDPs. The stabilization cost for 2015 is estimated at US$1.4 billion in additional spending above and beyond the region's budget. This estimate could significantly increase shou...
This book offers overviews of issues in banking sector reform and capital markets in Central and Eastern Europe, China and Israel.
A study of variations in technical efficiency across four industrial sectors in India shows that managerial effectiveness significantly influences efficiency and that considerable benefits derive from location within established industrial clusters for particular industries. Liberalization and globalization are likely to bring significant productivity gains even in low-technology industries as managers gear up to meet the challenges of competition.Lall and Rodrigo examine technical efficiency variation across four industrial sectors in India, using a stochastic production frontier technique. The results are comparable to technical efficiency distribution patterns obtained in other countries....