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Comments on the article `The Determinants of Economic Reform in the Post-Communist World,' by M. Steven Fish. Dynamics of economic reform in Eastern Europe; Relationship between the 1990 inaugural elections and the commitment to sustained economic reform; Integration of geography and history in investigating post-communist reform.

Educational change and improvement are constant processes. Practically every country in the world today is attempting to improve, reform, transform or change its educational system. The results of these development efforts have generally been disappointing. A general consensus seems to be that the gap between societal expectations and educational achievements is wide and becoming greater. The perceived failures of education are particularly difficult for political and educational leaders to understand given the massive influx of resources invested in educational systems in recent years. This is a result of a linear expectation wherein output is proportional to the input. Non-linear theory, proposed in this paper as a more valid way of conceptualizing educational development efforts, does not assume this proportional relationship. This paper addresses non-linear theory by using it to examine educational development efforts in Western and Eastern European nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]