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In Central and Eastern Europe, economic reform consistent with Bretton Woods and European Union (EU) demands has replicated not only the rules and institutions that prevail in Western societies but also their patterns of consensus and conflict. Although central bank policy has been largely depoliticized in the 2004 accession states through the institutionalization of central bank independence, agricultural interests were mobilized--in some instances against the EU--in the course of accession negotiations. This article argues that as they engage in the explicit transfer of economic policy to postcommunist states, international institutions simultaneously transmit beliefs about who has legitimate claims on the state. The methods through which international institutions help construct new markets in transition states have consequences for the development of domestic cleavages and for the cultivation of political support for economic integration. Keywords: central banks; agriculture; postcommunist transition; international institutions; constructivism

The under-representation of women in the post-communist parliaments of Hungary and Romania was explored through explanatory power of two principal approaches namely the impact of electoral systems and the effects of party ideology on the recruitment of women for legislative office. Formations with the ethnic agenda are least likely to recruit women for parliamentary seats, because they privilege ethnicity over any other forms of identity.

With the end of communism, the subsidies have dried up. The owner of the nickel, copper and platinum deposits is a Moscow bank and it has little interest in subsidizing people and amenities that it does not need. The Red Army no longer builds tanks, and the price of nickel has dropped threefold since the end of the Cold War. The town needs to shrink. Three hundred and fifty thousand people must, the economists say, become fifty thousand. It is an easy enough calculation, on paper. But what to do with the people? There are neither trains nor roads out of Norilsk. Many cannot afford the air fare out, which is the equivalent of six months' pension. It has become a town of poverty and unemployment, and in these conditions--freezing winters that last for ten months--poverty kills. (Angus Macqueen, 'Survivors,' Granta, 64, Winter 1998)

The authors trace why Czechoslovakia's thriving economy began to fail in 1997 and what is being done to improve the economy in the Czech Republic.

The article examines the European Union membership processes of Eastern European countries within the framework of state governance and geopolitical benefit. The resulting prospective is not gridlock but rather a comparatively smooth transition, as destabilizing policy agendas are not likely to be introduced and flexible institutional mechanisms can be used to prevent or negotiate gridlock.

An overview is presented on the influence of European Union expansion on political reforms in Eastern Europe. Discussion focuses on the relevance of political transition models to examine the transition processes, how candidacy for membership influences institutions, laws, popular culture and elite behavior, and emphasizes the importance of developing joint research programs to identify and work through specific problems.

Using survey data from rural rayons in four oblasts, the authors show that household production, formerly personal subsidiary agriculture, is geographically differentiated in post-Soviet Russia. They argue that the common tendency to view household production as an adaptive response by those especially vulnerable to economic shocks of the transition does not do justice to the diversity of its forms and, in particular, overlooks a growing commercialization of the sector. Factors such as distance from the market, the physical environment, and 'cultural-ethnic' factors influence production in the household sector, including the ability of different groups of producers to compete in the market. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O18, Q10, Q15.4 figures, 9 tables, 35 references.

The paper by John Odling-Smee and Gonsalo Paster (2002) has provided new insights on the political dimensions of the IMF's stand on the ruble zone. These political issues are discussed in the general context of the early reforms in the former Soviet states and more specifically they are discussed in the context of the available options regarding maintenance or dismantling of the ruble area. JEL Classification Numbers: E52, F33, F42, P24 Keywords: Monetary policy, ruble area, national currencies, In their provocative paper 'The IMF and the Ruble Area, 1991-93', John Odling-Smee and Gonsalo Paster (2002) discuss the problems related to the introduction of national currencies in the post-Soviet [...]

During the Soviet period Moldova was commonly referred to as 'sunny Moldova.' Unfortunately, today the country's economic situation is anything but sunny. Moldova has the ignominious distinction of being one [...]

A Japanese economist specializing in transition in the Central Asian countries surveys legislation enacted in post-Soviet Tajikistan for the purpose of promoting economic stabilization and reform, as well as the state institutions (e.g., State Property Committee, Central Bank) charged with facilitating their implementation. The gap between formal reform measures and their implementation is examined in the context of obstacles posed by civil war, internal and external political instability, and structural imbalances in Tajikistan's economy. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: E60, O10, O53.3 figures, 1 table, 33 references.

We present a model of citizen support for EU membership designed explicitly for post-communist countries. We posit that membership in the EU can function as an implicit guarantee that the economic reforms undertaken since the end of communism will not be reversed. On this basis, we predict that 'winners' who have benefited from the transition are more likely to support EU membership for their country than 'losers' who have been hurt by the transition. We also predict that supporters of the free market will be more likely to support EU membership than those who oppose the free market. We test these propositions using survey data from ten post-communist countries that have applied for membership in the EU and find strong support for our hypotheses. The article concludes by speculating about the role attitudes towards EU membership may play in the development of partisan preferences.

This article examines the effectiveness of incentives for foreign direct investment in post-communist countries in economic transition by using a comparative analysis. The author finds little added value from FDI because of the introduction of tax concessions, while no relationship between the level of FDI and tax incentives could be found. The attractiveness of a country played a role in the success of transition, low taxes positively influenced FDI, and the way in which privatization took place had an impact on political control.

Post-cold war theories of the press and foreign policy have noted a new, less consistent relationship between political and media elites. Political communication scholars have developed three general models in response, but these do not seem to map well to press coverage of the anti-globalization movement that has emerged in recent years. This paper argues for a new theory of the press and oppositional politics in an environment that has altered the equilibrium between media, political elites, and interest groups. The new political environment results from three principal causes: the erosion of state sovereignty over the political economy, the elimination of the Soviet system as a rhetorical resource for movement critics, and new information technologies that alter movement structure and thus increase its resilience. Analysis of two streams of media content, news and editorial, on the protests at the 1999 meetings of the World Trade Organization reveals an anomalous reversal for received theories of media and elite power in the way the mainstream press covers movement politics.

This article examines the post-communist Russian economy after the first ten years of reform, focusing on the nature of institutional reforms in the corporate sector, which have been minimal, analyzing who controls the corporate enterprises, why they remain closed, how they function, and why the law fails to reach them. Issues include the foundational sources of corporate control beginning with the privatization of state property in the Gorbachev era; the functioning of Russian corporations which include the principles of irresponsible partners, monopolization of financial flows, the use of foreign 'profit centers' located abroad, the 'privatization' of institutions of power at the federal and local level; and a comparison of developmental scenarios is provided, considering development according to existing trends, under the resumption of market reforms or economic dictatorship.

This study deals with the extent and content of 'Europeanisation' in the Central and East European (CEE) countries at the level of market making. It argues that Europeanisation at the level of market making was about creating states with strong capacities to preserve and regulate markets and with increased and reconstructed administrative and planning capabilities. The most successful CEE countries with their strong states and weak social and economic actors converged towards a moving target, that is, towards EU countries in the process of supranational market making with dramatically different constellation of powers among key economic actors. The paper discusses the specifics of national level market making in the CEE countries, the factors of divergence within the region, and the 'diverging convergence' between the CEE and the EU countries., MARKET MAKING AND EUROPEANISATION The 1990s was the decade of market making in both parts of Europe. This was the decade of the radical extension of the internal market and [...]

Post-communist welfare regimes are frequently portrayed as a hybrid consisting of the relics of communist social policy and a neophyte imitation of the US model of welfare. Both components of that hybrid are regarded as incompatible with the 'European social model'. At the same time, most welfare reformers in East-Central Europe try to avoid falling into the trap of first, conserving the statist inefficient and pseudo-egalitarian character of the old system of social policy; second, seeking new forms of welfare collectivism along the national-conservative/populist 'third roads' between capitalism and communism; third, triggering popular discontent by dismantling the old welfare regimes too rapidly, or in a haphazard way; and fourth, targeting an end-state which has become unsustainable in the Western world during the past two decades. Meanwhile, the emerging welfare regimes in the region are far from being identical and the reformers do not find stable institutional arrangements in the West to copy. In an effort to make sense of this complex picture, the paper examines what has 'really' happened in the welfare sectors in the region during the past decade by presenting three dominant narratives of the social transformation: 'leaping in the dark', 'marking time' and 'muddling through'., A SOCIAL BORDER? According to a recent journalistic truism, the lion Curtain that was dismantled in 1989 as a political and ideological frontier has since re-emerged as an economic and [...]

This article discusses the political and economic transformation of post-Soviet Russia, focusing on the role of foreign investments in developing a market economy. Issues include the mobility of international capital, a comparison of Russia to other countries with transitional economies during the 1990s, and problems of economic policy in relation to foreign investments.

This article explores the development of business enterprises in post-Soviet Russia, including the negative impact on market reforms by government authorities and which lag behind macroeconomics. The author suggests that market institutions in Russia are incomplete and not orientated toward the market, authorites do not have the traditional instruments to monitor business enterprises, which has lead to some of the corruption in Russia.

This article explores the impact of foreign direct investments in economies in transition from communism, focusing on data from Hungary. The authors find that FDI takes different forms with different consequences, but in general it is found to have positive economic results in Hungary, however allowing for the possibility that the success of foreign owned firms may lead to socially detrimental market concentration and potentially hinder future growth.

Russia's economic adjustment to the fall of communism has been notoriously troubled. The output recovery since 1998 is widely judged to be fragile. What is less often noted is that Russia is far from unique in its `transition' troubles. In this paper the main hypotheses put forward to account for Russia's transition difficulties are reviewed in the context of economic change in all ex-communist countries. Accounts relying on (unexplained) mistakes in economic policy are inadequate. Two accounts may be sustainable in the light of evidence from other ex-communist countries: one based on inherited economic structure and one based on cultural factors. The latter hypothesis is shown to be susceptible to testing. Keywords: Russia; economic transformation; social capital; distributional coalitions.

The current trends in the development of the new Russian economic science, since the demise of the Soviet economy, is examined. The authors discuss the importance of the Western economic models as a guide for Russian economic scholars, but criticize economists for having a better understanding of Western markets than the markets of their own region.

WILLIAMS A. M., BALAZ V. and BODNAROVA B. (2001) Border regions and trans-border mobility: Slovakia in economic transition, Reg. Studies 35, 831-846. This paper analyses the reproduction of border region inequalities in Slovakia, between the later period of state socialism and the post 1989 transition. The 'winners' and 'losers' are largely determined by changing patterns of national and international trade, investment and labour migration in Slovakia after 1989. The paper considers the extent to which regions and households can contest their position within these trajectories through trans-border personal mobility. It analyses the double-faced nature of borders which constitute both economic opportunities and barriers for border regions. In particular, it considers how trans-border arbitrage practices and labour flows benefit individuals and regions. While these may modify border region disparities, their overall impacts are limited and differentiated, and tend to reinforce the economic dynamism of the weste rn regions. In part, such trans-border economic relationships are constrained by the uneven and incomplete institutional and market reforms in Central and Eastern Europe. Trans-border co-operation projects have had little success in overcoming the barriers to trans-border economic relationships based on personal mobility due to the enduring problems of weak market regulation and institutions. The paper, therefore, stresses the need to examine both the practices and the institutions of border region economies. WILLIAMS A. M., BALAZ V. et BODNAROVA B. (2001) Les regions frontalieres et la mobilite transfrontaliere: Ia Slovakie en periode de transition: Reg. Studies 35, 831-846. Get article cherche a analyser Ia naissance des inegalites entre les regions frontalieres en Slovakie entre Ia periode ulterieure du socialisme d'Etat et la periode de transition qui date de 1989. Dans une large mesure, les 'gagnants' et les 'perdants' sont determines en fonction de I'evolution de Ia ventilation du commerce national et international, de I'investissement et de la migration de la main-d'oeuvre en Slovakie apres 1989. L'article examine jusqu'a quel point les regions et les menages peuvent modifier leur positionnement au sein de ces trajectoires A partir de Ia mobilite personnelle transfrontaliere. On analyse le probleme a double tranchant que posent les frontieres qui constituent a la fois des opportunites economiques et des barrieres aux regions frontalieres. En particulier, on considere de queUe facon l'arbitrage transfrontali er et les flux de main-d'oeuvre profitent aux individus et aux regions. Alors que ces facteurs--la risquent de modifier les inegalites entre les regions frontalieres, leurs impacts globaux s'averent limites et differencies, et dans l'ensemble ont tendance A renforcer le dynamisme economique des regions A l'ouest du pays. En partie, de tels rapports transifontaliers sont contraints par 1'irreqularite et le caractere incomplet des reformes insti- tutionnelles et de marche dans l'Europe centrale et dans I'Europe de l'est. Le partenatiat transfrontalier n'a pas reussi A surmonter les barrieres aux rapports economiques transfrontaliers fondes sur la mobilite personnelle a cause du probleme irresolu, a savoir la faiblesse de la regulation du marche et des institutions. Get article souligne, donc, qu'il faut examiner et les pratiques et les institutions des economies des regions frontalieres. WILLIAMS A. A., BALAZ V. und BODNAROVA (2001) Grenzgebiete und grenzuberschreitende Mobilitat: Die Slovakei im wirtschaftlichen ubergang, Reg. Studies 35, 831-846. Dieser Aufsatz analysiert das Fortbestehen der Ungleichheiten in Grenzgebieten der Slovakei von den letzten Jahren des staatlichen Sozialismus bis zum Ubergang nach 1989. Dabei wurden 'Gewinner' und 'Verlierer' von sich wandelnden Mustern des Handels im Inland und Ausland, Investierungen und Wanderung von Arbeitskraften in der Slovakei nach 1989 bestimmt. Der Aufsatz berucksichtigt das Ausmab in dem Regionen und Haushalte ihre Stellung in diesen vorgezeichneten Bahnen mittels eigener grenzuberschreitender Mobilitat behaupten konnen. Er analysiert die Doppelnatur von Grenzen, die fur Grenzgebiete Gelegenheiten wie auch Barrieren darsteilt. Vorallem beschaftigt er sich damit, inwiefern grenzuberschreitende Schlichtungsverfahren und Arbeitskraftstrome Einzelpersonen und Regionen nurzbtingend sind. Obschon sie Grenzgebietsunterschiede mildern konnen, i st die Gesamtwirkung doch begrenzt und unterschiedlich, und tendiert im groben und ganzen dahin, die wirtschaftliche Dynamik der westlichen Regionen weiter zu starken. Zum Tell werden derartige grenzuberschreitende Wirtschaftsbeziehungen durch ungleichmabige und unvollstandige Reformen von Markten und Institutionen in Mittel-und Osteuropa zuruckgehalten. Grenzuberschreitende Projekte fur Zusammenarbeit haben infolge der anhaltenden Probleme mangelhafter Marktverordnungen und Institutionen nur wenig Erfolg bei der Uberwindung von Schranken gegen grenzuberschreitende Wirtschaftsbezie-hungen, die auf personlicher Mobilitat beruhen. Der Aufsatz betont deshalb die Notwendigkeit, sowohl die Verfahren als auch die Institutionen der Wirtschaften in Grenzgebieten zu uberprufen.

This article examines the socioeconomic consequences of post-Soviet economic reforms by evaluating the transition process in Russia, beginning in 1992. Issues include the division of the state and the economy, the formation of the market, price liberalization, the restructuring of the state and the fundamentals distinguishing the market from the non-market.

A Finnish economist assesses the economic transition experience of the three Baltic countries--Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania--the first among the successor states of former Soviet Union (FSU) to liberalize and stabilize their economies. He investigates the extent to which progress in transition reflects favorable initial conditions in the Baltic states vis-a-vis implementation of stable macroeconomic policies and ongoing structural reform. The paper argues that the pronounced break with the past after these countries regained their independence facilitated efforts to steer the reform process in a more radical direction, with the prospect of EU membership providing an added incentive to continue painful structural reforms. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: E6, P2, P3.4 figures, 2 tables, 53 references.

This article provides a response to Joseph Stiglitz's negative assessment of economic reforms in the Russian Federation, as reported at the World Bank conference in in 1999, and which critiqued the 'Washington consensus' and post-Soviet economic reform. The author suggests that Stiglitz and other Western critics ignored the Russian preconditions to reform, making their arguements and observations abstractions and thereby unhelpful at a practical level.

This article discusses the policies of institutional change in postcommunist Russia. The author argues the policies are path-contingent in that Russia intends to decentralize the commercial banking system, weaning it from the state instead of reinforcing its ties to the state.

This article evaluates the success and failure of economic transition in post-communist countries based on aggregate share of private sectors. The author considers the generic private sector to be the most dynamic and evaluates its relationship with the evolving institutional framework; law and order, political liberty and trust are also addressed as necessary for transition.

This article analysis the economic transformation of Russia in the post-Soviet era in the context of corporate structure, patterns of social integration, economic outcomes, and elite and class fragmentation. Comparative political economy is used to construct models of capitalism; the author suggests that Russia should move toward a state-led type of capitalist system, rather than a market-led one, since the economy is defined as a chaotic social formation.

An argument is presented for a separation between civil society and political society in Poland, examining the roles of nongovernmental organizations, neighborhood councils and protest groups. The article focuses on citizen participation in politics and the resulting impact on the spatial and ideological formation of a civil society, using post-socialist Warsaw as an example.

A macroeconomic analysis is presented on the socioeconomic status of metropolitan areas of the former Soviet Union since the collapse of communism in 1989. A comparison is made to other socialist cities such as Warsaw, Poland, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, selected cities in China, and Havana, Cuba, and the impact of non-government organizations, large rural populations, and the presence or absence of market controls.

An analysis is presented on the response of Eastern European households to labor market restructuring in the postcommunist era. It is shown that many households have created strategies involving economic activities that exist outside of free market relations, which were developed to counteract growing social inequality and uneven employment in the capitalist system.

The development of venture entrepreneurship has aided economic development in post-communist countries successfully transitioning to a market system. Proper institutional arrangements are a crucial factor in the growth of this sector.

Research presented concerns the reasons for the varying amounts of economic growth experienced by 28 post-communist countries from 1990-1998. Factors discussed include initial economic conditions, war, ethnic relations, social capital and business ethics.

Researchers study the effects of the illegal economic activities of transnational migrants in East Central Europe (ECE). The post-communist societies of ECE have suffered economic instability, lack of legal mediation between state and market, and peripheral rather than internal incorporation with global capitalism.

Firms in Russia take part in nonmonetary exchange (NME) to discount nominal prices, which are well above market-clearing levels, so that Russia in 1999 has a 'virtual economy' and an unprecedented reliance on NME for industrial enterprises. The 1998 financial collapse came from breakdown of the subsidy system much like the breakdown of the Soviet economic system. Mechanisms that prevent convergence of formal and actual transaction values include depreciation schedules, tax regulations, asset valuation rules and an inadequate structure for bankruptcy. These distort price-formation forces and sustain a subsidy regime that comes between Russian industry and market forces, that is, supply and demand.

The lessons that can be learned from the new democracies that were formed since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 about the factors that seem to encourage a transition from dictatorship to democracy are explored. The factors that seem to contribute to its sustainability and institutionalization are highlighted.

An empirical analysis of 11 former communist countries' potential to attract foreign direct investment, is presented.

Analysis of Russian and Polish elitists' opinions on economy, foreign policy and democracy to determine if they have changed since post-communist transitions.