The Strategy of Reform in the Previously Centrally-Planned Economies of Eastern Europe

The Strategy of Reform in the Previously Centrally-Planned Economies of Eastern Europe

Author: Mr.Eduardo Borensztein

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 1993-03-01

Total Pages: 25

ISBN-13: 1451971877

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This paper analyzes some of the lessons that can be drawn from the experience of Eastern Europe in the process of transition to a market economy that is under way, and examines some key challenges currently facing policymakers in these economies. The paper studies the constraints affecting the general strategy of reform--rapid versus gradual--that was adopted, and the output decline initially experienced and its effect on medium-term growth perspectives. The paper also discusses the implementation of mass privatization schemes, and the type and extent of government intervention in the restructuring process. This is a Paper on Policy Analysis and Assessment and the author(s) would welcome any comments on the present text. Citations should refer to a Paper on Policy Analysis and Assessment of the International Monetary Fund, mentioning the authors) and the date of issuance. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the Fund.


Reforming Planned Economies in an Integrating World Economy

Reforming Planned Economies in an Integrating World Economy

Author: Barry P. Bosworth

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2000-07-26

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9780815791317

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The still chaotic states of the former Soviet Union, a growing China, and the divergent nations of Eastern Europe are striving to radically transform their economies. In their quest to become more integrated with the global economy, they are making historic changes to move toward market-based, private-enterprise systems. In this book, Barry P. Bosworth and Gur Ofer provide a balanced assessment of the progress of integration among the formerly centrally planned economies. So far, the results of the reform process range from amazing success in China to economic and political disarray in the states of the former Soviet Union. The authors outline the key issues that any successful reform program must address and the sequence in which these reforms should take place. A volume of Brookings' Integrating National Economies Series


Obstacles to Transforming Centrally-planned Economies

Obstacles to Transforming Centrally-planned Economies

Author: Guillermo A. Calvo

Publisher:

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 40

ISBN-13:

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This paper identifies obstacles hindering the transformation of centrally-planned economies (CPEs) into well-functioning market economies. The analysis is motivated by the recent experience with economic transformation and restructuring in Eastern Europe and the U.S.S.R. The economic system in CPEs is highly distorted. Prices do not represent real social costs, incentives systems are absent, losses of unprofitable state-owned enterprises are automatically financed, legislations vital for the functioning of markets are not in place, private ownership and property rights are underdeveloped, bankruptcy laws are absent, markets are missing, shortages prevail and, occasionally, inflation is high. The obstacles identified relate to (i) anticipatory dynamics, (ii) monetary overhang and the budget, and (iii) underdeveloped credit markets. It is demonstrated that these obstacles inhibit the effectiveness of price reform, monetary and credit policies, and trade liberalization. The analysis focuses on various ways to remove the obstacles. In this regard, a special examination is made of the implications of cleaning the balance sheets of enterprises and banks from nonperforming loans, as well as ways to enhance credibility. In the absence of such measures, privatization will be difficult since the necessary information about creditworthiness of firms is lacking. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of sequencing, safety nets. and their associated obstacles.


Restructuring the World Economy

Restructuring the World Economy

Author: Joyce Kolko

Publisher: Pantheon

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13:

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An analytical account of the current crisis of global capitalism. Kolko examines what the global capitalist system means today--for the United States, Japan, and Western Europe, for the less developed nations, and for the centrally planned economies of Eastern Europe, Russia, and China. The author's analysis moves from changes in banking and the service sector to the new technology industries; the dilemmas of world debt, efforts to restructure world trade, and the nature of monetary relations. Kolko describes the various strategies to restructure the global economy and maintains that reform on a national scale cannot begin to cope with the crisis. She shows how and why the diverse efforts to restructure the global order reflect the character of the current crisis. ISBN 0-394-55920-7: $24.95.


Fiscal Policy and the Economic Restructuring of Economies in Transition

Fiscal Policy and the Economic Restructuring of Economies in Transition

Author: Mr.Vito Tanzi

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 1993-03-01

Total Pages: 38

ISBN-13: 1451921209

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This paper discusses major fiscal issues faced by the previously centrally planned economies in their transition to market economies. It focuses on three main topics: (a) the extent to which the budget deficit should be a guide to policy; (b) the reforms that must be carried out in tax legislation and tax administration; and (c) the required changes in public expenditure and in the setting up of institutions to manage public spending.


Financial Sector Reform and Central Banking in Centrally Planned Economies

Financial Sector Reform and Central Banking in Centrally Planned Economies

Author: International Monetary Fund

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 1990-12-01

Total Pages: 24

ISBN-13: 1451939566

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This paper reviews key areas of central banking reform in a sample of centrally planned economies undergoing transition to market-based systems. The discussion draws mainly on the experiences of four countries, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and China. Significant efforts have been made, or are under consideration, in all countries to develop a more efficient framework for monetary management, and to provide greater autonomy to central banks in macro stabilization policies. These objectives call for a coordinated approach to strengthening a wide range of central banking functions simultaneously, and require that a core mass of supporting financial sector reforms be implemented to ensure effective transformation and stabilization with minimal transitional costs.


Patterns of Economic Restructuring for Eastern Europe

Patterns of Economic Restructuring for Eastern Europe

Author: S. I. Cohen

Publisher:

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13:

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The economies of Eastern European countries, under communist rule for the last four decades or more, are presently faced with a number of interdependent but yet distinct policy issues. The issues concern the normal structural patterns for Eastern Europe, the size of transitional gaps, the choice between steady and shock approaches, the scale and scope of privatization and the form and pace of external re-integration in the world economy. The present volume is devoted to an exposition of these policy issues and the propagation of several analytical devices which are found useful. The volume reports on the construction and analysis of six Social Accounting Matrices for Eastern and Western European countries. Corresponding models featuring general equilibrium and structural restrictions for Eastern Europe are found relevant in this context. The research underlying the contributions to this volume was supported by a generous grant from the Commission of the European Communities in the context of the Community Action for Cooperation in the field of Economics (ACE).


Establishing Incentive Structures and Planning Agencies That Support Market-Oriented Transformations

Establishing Incentive Structures and Planning Agencies That Support Market-Oriented Transformations

Author: Mr.Peter Isard

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 1991-11-01

Total Pages: 16

ISBN-13: 1451853645

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This note addresses various types of incentives that must be established before a market economy can function effectively. It also argues that the enormous challenge of restructuring large industrial enterprises or reabsorbing their workers, while appropriately based on market signals, cannot be accomplished by the market alone. Some type of planning will eventually be required. Ideally, such planning should receive high priority from the outset with clear recognition that durable macroeconomic stabilization will be very difficult to achieve in a democratic political system until the large state enterprises have been successfully transformed or their workers reabsorbed.


Constructing a Market Economy

Constructing a Market Economy

Author: Richard W. T. Pomfret

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13:

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Offering a cross-comparative study of the transition regimes of the countries formerly characterized by Soviet central planning, Pomfret (economics, U. of Adelaide) argues that the imposition of the Washington consensus has been a qualified success across the board. A major theme of the work is whether economists were able to accurately predict the economic behavior and results of the transition economies and whether they were able to learn from discrepancies. His analysis of this is surprisingly positive, although the arguments for the immediate benefits of mass privatization are noted to be deficient (in hindsight for Pomfret). Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR