Transforming Post Communist Political Economies

The publication brings together a series of essays offering an institutional analysis of economic and social change in Central and Eastern Europe and the new independent states. Available in image format, hypertext HTML, and as Adobe Acrobat PDF files.

Examining transformations using a variety of perspectives Theorizing Transition provides both a rich empirical map of the dimensions of post-Communism and raises important theoretical issues about how we interpret these changes.

The mainstream view of the way in which best to transform the communist economies was that there should be a rapid transition to a free market economy and political democracy. The articles in this book challenge this view. They do so from the standpoint of economic and political theory, and from an evaluation of the comparative experience of different reforming countries in Europe and Asia. This book represents the first systematic attempt to try to explain the dramatic contrast in outcome between reforming countries that have pursued comprehensive system reform and those that have pursued cautious, experimental strategies.

The work's major substantive themes revolve around problems of post-communist socio-economic transformations. Specifically, it explores post-communist systemic change, the role of religion and collective identity, the significance of trust and economic culture, patterns of state-economy interactions in enterprise restructuring, the context of EU expansion, the strengths and weaknesses of economic theory and neo-liberal doctrine, and the history of ideas in the post-communist transformation debate.

In this collection of essays David A Dyker explores some of the most difficult and fascinating aspects of the process of transition from autocratic ?real socialism? to a capitalism that is sometimes democratic, sometimes authoritarian. The stress is on the economic dimension of transformation, but the author sets the economic drama firmly within a political economy framework and a historical perspective. Trends in key economic variables are analysed against the background of the struggle between different social and political groups for power and command over resources. While the book pays due attention to topical issues like EU enlargement, the underlying perspective is a long-term one. Transition is viewed not as a set of once-and-for-all institutional changes or a process of short-term stabilisation, but as a historic opportunity to solve the inherited problem of poverty and underdevelopment in Central-East Europe and the former Soviet Union. The book ends with a critical assessment of how economics, as a discipline, has coped with the challenge of that historic opportunity.

This interdisciplinary study offers a comprehensive analysis of the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Providing full historical context and drawing on a wide range of literature, this book explores the continuous economic and social transformation of the post-socialist world. While the future is yet to be determined, understanding the present phase of transformation is critical. The book’s core exploration evolves along three pivots of competitive economic structure, institutional change, and social welfare. The main elements include analysis of the emergence of the socialist economic model; its adaptations through the twentieth century; discussion of the 1990s market transition reforms; post-2008 crisis development; and the social and economic diversity in the region today. With an appreciation for country specifics, the book also considers the urgent problems of social policy, poverty, income inequality, and labor migration. Transition Economies will aid students, researchers and policy makers working on the problems of comparative economics, economic development, economic history, economic systems transition, international political economy, as well as specialists in post-Soviet and Central and Eastern European regional studies.

Necroeconomics and post-communist transformation of economy : the political economy of post-communist capitalism (lessons from Georgia) / Vladimer Papava, c2005.