Eastern Europe and the World Economy

Two of the most important economic processes at work in recent years are the globalization of the world economy and the economic transition in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. This book analyses the transition process from a comparative perspective and places these changes within the wider framework of globalization.It assesses the problems of transition faced by business and governments to better understand the direction in which future economic and political policy should move for improved growth. It evaluates the current stage of economic development in the transitional countries and discusses trends in the world economy since the early 1990s. Specifically, it addresses trends in global and regional development strategies, government policies, privatization, foreign investment and external balances. The authors then analyse the future prospects for economic and political relations between Eastern Europe and the European Union, the World Trade Organization and the international community as a whole. Some of the specific issues they focus on include US industrial competitiveness policy, economic nationalism, privatization in Eastern Europe, venture capital activities, the required economic conditions for Eastern European countries to join the European Union, regionalism and industrial policy for Eastern Europe, and lessons to be learned from the Japanese and Hong Kong transformations, as well as a comparative assessment of some political aspects of the economic strategies in Japan and Germany. Eastern Europe and the World Economy will be welcomed by scholars and students interested in the economics of transition, comparative economic systems, international economics and development economics, as well as by policymakers and government officials.