First published in 1987, this is an analysis of the contemporary breakdown of political and economic systems within the Eastern European communist countries. Rather than passively following the developments of this crisis, the author seeks instead to identify the reasons for failure and to examine alternative policies that offer solutions to these problems. Jan Winiecki's work offers a comparative study of the Soviet-type economies of the East with the market economies of the West; providing a cause and effect analysis of each model, with possible scenarios for their future prospects.

First published in 1991, this book uses a property rights perspective to analyse why there is such widespread resistance to change in the Soviet Economic System. Many within the ruling stratum benefit considerably from their positions, particularly in terms of access to goods and services. In an original conclusion Jan Winiecki argues that a cost-effective way of removing the resistance of the parasitic ruling stratum would be a system of compensatory payments.

This thought-provoking book considers the global challenges and challengers to the economic supremacy of the West.Jan Winiecki explores the various problems that the West must deal with in order to remain an efficient competitor in the world economy. These, he argues, are primarily consequences of the ever-expanding welfare state; consequences that are not only economic but also socio-psychological and, therefore, political. The author also considers the evolution of Western Europe and the USA from a new perspective, noting the 'Europeanization' of US economic policies and regulation and the 'Americanization' of polices and regulation in some European countries. The book concludes that the main challengers to the West - Brazil, Russia, India and China (the so-called BRIC group of countries) - are unlikely to gain economic supremacy over the West any time soon, given that they have to contend with their own difficulties. Economic Futures of the West will prove a stimulating and challenging read for academics, researchers and students in the fields of economics, heterodox economics and development. Contents: Preface Part I: Global Challenges: Irrelevant? Imaginary? Immaterial? 1. Anti-Globalists - Funny Children of Marx and Coca-Cola 2. World is Running Out of Resources (Once Again...) 3. Climate Alarmists, Climate Skeptics Part II: BRIC Countries and Global Economic Shifts: Projections and Realities 4. The Uneven Quality of the BRIC: Russia and Brazil as the Weaker Half 5. China and India: Competitors for Future Leadership in the Global Economy Part III: West in Decline and Still (Largely) in Denial 6. Global Financial Crisis as an Accelerator of Damaging Long-Term Trends 7. Intra-European Divergences at the Time of Crumbling Welfare State 8. How Much of American Exceptionalism is Still Left in the Europeanized United States? 9. Underpinnings for Scenario Postscript - Back to the Future Index

First published in 1987, this is an analysis of the contemporary breakdown of political and economic systems within the Eastern European communist countries. Rather than passively following the developments of this crisis, the author seeks instead to identify the reasons for failure and to examine alternative policies that offer solutions to these problems. Jan Winiecki's work offers a comparative study of the Soviet-type economies of the East with the market economies of the West; providing a cause and effect analysis of each model, with possible scenarios for their future prospects.

First published in 1997, this collection of articles and essays analyses the political economy of reform and change in Eastern Europe during the years of Gorbachev's perestroika and the years immediately following the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Written by Polish economist Jan Winiecki, between 1984 and 1996, this work explores the issue of the feasibility of reform and change during the period of decline and collapse of communist economic order and, later, the emergence of the capitalist economic order in the post-communist Eastern Europe. Split into three parts, the work considers firstly the failures of Gorbachev's political economy of reform, secondly the determining factors in the collapse of the Soviet system, and finally the feasibility of the systematic change which began in the wake of its collapse.

The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe provide unique examples of large-scale relatively highly developed centrally planned economies. In the 1980s economists in both the East and West began to focus with increasingly critical attention on the economies of the Soviet Bloc, in an attempt to explain why they were performing so poorly in comparison with the economies of the Western powers and the capitalist countries of South-East Asia. First published in 1988 this substantial and innovative contribution to the critical literature on the economies of the former Soviet bloc is unusual in that its author is equally familiar with both Western and Eastern sources. It highlights, in particular, a discrepancy between the behaviour of individuals in Soviet-style economies and that expected of agents in a market system. It proceeds to outline how the consequent discordance between microeconomic practice and macroeconomic planning generates fundamental economic distortions.

First published in 1991, this book uses a property rights perspective to analyse why there is such widespread resistance to change in the Soviet Economic System. Many within the ruling stratum benefit considerably from their positions, particularly in terms of access to goods and services. In an original conclusion Jan Winiecki argues that a cost-effective way of removing the resistance of the parasitic ruling stratum would be a system of compensatory payments.

The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe provide unique examples of large-scale relatively highly developed centrally planned economies. In the 1980s economists in both the East and West began to focus with increasingly critical attention on the economies of the Soviet Bloc, in an attempt to explain why they were performing so poorly in comparison with the economies of the Western powers and the capitalist countries of South-East Asia.

First published in 1988 this substantial and innovative contribution to the critical literature on the economies of the former Soviet bloc is unusual in that its author is equally familiar with both Western and Eastern sources. It highlights, in particular, a discrepancy between the behaviour of individuals in Soviet-style economies and that expected of agents in a market system. It proceeds to outline how the consequent discordance between microeconomic practice and macroeconomic planning generates fundamental economic distortions.

Contents:
Introduction
1. The Legacy of the Communist Past and its Impact on Foreign Trade in Transition
2. Foreign Trade Adjustment in Early Transition
3. Successes of Trade Reorientation and Trade Expansion: An Enterprise-Level Approach
4. Institutions and Foreign Trade Reorientation: How Much Impact upon Performance?
5. Post-Transition Foreign Trade Problems and Prospects: The Economics and Political Economy of Accession

Poland's transition from socialism to capitalism has largely been praised as a success story. In reality, however, according to this study, Poland's case is an incomplete transition. The authors argue that these symptoms arise from a political economy failure to build the required insititutions, once the initial enthusiasm waned, and the positive effects of those initial measures - which began the process in the early 1990's - petered out. These essays suggest respective economic remedies, and demonstrate why some of them are politically difficult in the present, still volatile, political climate. Moreover, they tentatively look at the sources of resistance to further systematic change which go beyond traditional reform fatique. Looking at the processes involved in economic transition, covering key issues including financial markets, labour market, competition and intervention, social security, property rights and attitudes towards the changing political economy, this book provides a wide-ranging study of economic development. It should be of great use to economists, those involved in Russian and East European studies, and political scientists.

How successful has the transition to market economies proved in East-Central Europe? The decision by the East European countries to move to market economies was accompanied by much hypothesizing and expounding of economic theories. However, now that the initial euphoria has passed, it is time for a rational assessment of this transition and the success of those theories in practice. Since the more economically advance countries are situated in East Central Europe, Professor Winieck and Andrzej Kondratowicz have focused their study on Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and (former) Yugoslavia. The authors present a systematic account of macroeconomic developments and institutional changes in each of the countries up to the summer of 1991 and the collapse of, what was, Yugoslavia. They assess progress, dealing with the determinants of output, macro policies, wage, price and employment issues and the external balance. The authors give particular importance to institutional changes, since these have been particularly significant in the shaping of the macroeconomy. Each country report is preceded by a summary of common features of the transition and is followed by an analysis of theoretica

New Europe is a rhetorical term used by some analysts to describe European post-communist transition success stories. The term implies their recent return to European, or more precisely Western civilization, but suggests - given their (forced) communist detour - that there is no single Pan-European identity in the EU. This book examines the nations that make up the so-called New-Europe (those that joined the European Union in 2004) to look at the economic competitiveness in comparison with each other and the rest of Europe.

The editor - a leading scholar on transition economics - draws together contributions from a wide range of contributors to look at this important issue. These essays stress the interaction between successful transition measures creating an encouraging, more transparent, liberal (i.e. free market) environment on the one hand and the inflow of foreign investors encouraged by that environment on the other.

The transformation of state-owned enterprises into privately owned ones is commonly referred to as 'privatization'. Just as important as this process, though sometimes not given the attention it deserves and requires, is the establishment and expansion of new private firms. This book analyzes new entrepreneurial firms that emerge and occasionally flourish after a period of state communism has come to an end. The authors rightly focus on the aftermath of the end of communism by looking first at the inevitable output decline, followed by an overview of new entrepreneurial firms. Specific East European examples are examined and the lessons which can be learned from these will interest academics and policy-makers alike. Committed and knowledgeable authors in this book treat the sometimes emotive issue of transition-developing economies maturely and expertly. The result is a volume which will interest scholars with an interest in transition economics and politics, as well as those who actively work in transition economies.

First published in 1997, this collection of articles and essays analyses the political economy of reform and change in Eastern Europe during the years of Gorbachev's perestroika and the years immediately following the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Written by Polish economist Jan Winiecki, between 1984 and 1996, this work explores the issue of the feasibility of reform and change during the period of decline and collapse of communist economic order and, later, the emergence of the capitalist economic order in the post-communist Eastern Europe. Split into three parts, the work considers firstly the failures of Gorbachev's political economy of reform, secondly the determining factors in the collapse of the Soviet system, and finally the feasibility of the systematic change which began in the wake of its collapse.

The transformation of state-owned enterprises into privately owned ones is commonly referred to as 'privatization'. Just as important as this process, though sometimes not given the attention it deserves and requires, is the establishment and expansion of new private firms.
This book analyzes new entrepreneurial firms that emerge and occasionally flourish after a period of state communism has come to an end. The authors rightly focus on the aftermath of the end of communism by looking first at the inevitable output decline, followed by an overview of new entrepreneurial firms. Specific East European examples are examined and the lessons which can be learned from these will interest academics and policy-makers alike.
Committed and knowledgeable authors in this book treat the sometimes emotive issue of transition-developing economies maturely and expertly. The result is a volume which will interest scholars with an interest in transition economics and politics, as well as those who actively work in transition economies.

These memoirs portray an individual coping with the adversities and surrealistic qualities of life and work under communism. The author recollects his adolescence, next, how he tried to avoid head-on conflicts, dissented, and how he finally became a known critic of the system. As such, he belonged to a group of advisers to the underground "Solidarity" leadership. His memoirs help to understand the collapse of the communist system and the stormy period of systemic change from a personal perspective. The author participated in these changes as an already well known Sovietologist, as well as through his own on- and off involvements in post-communist transition politics, participating in various advisory bodies (including that advising President Walesa).

This thought-provoking book considers the global challenges and challengers to the economic supremacy of the West.Jan Winiecki explores the various problems that the West must deal with in order to remain an efficient competitor in the world economy. These, he argues, are primarily consequences of the ever-expanding welfare state; consequences that are not only economic but also socio-psychological and, therefore, political. The author also considers the evolution of Western Europe and the USA from a new perspective, noting the 'Europeanization' of US economic policies and regulation and the 'Americanization' of polices and regulation in some European countries. The book concludes that the main challengers to the West - Brazil, Russia, India and China (the so-called BRIC group of countries) - are unlikely to gain economic supremacy over the West any time soon, given that they have to contend with their own difficulties. Economic Futures of the West will prove a stimulating and challenging read for academics, researchers and students in the fields of economics, heterodox economics and development. Contents: Preface Part I: Global Challenges: Irrelevant? Imaginary? Immaterial? 1. Anti-Globalists - Funny Children of Marx and Coca-Cola 2. World is Running Out of Resources (Once Again...) 3. Climate Alarmists, Climate Skeptics Part II: BRIC Countries and Global Economic Shifts: Projections and Realities 4. The Uneven Quality of the BRIC: Russia and Brazil as the Weaker Half 5. China and India: Competitors for Future Leadership in the Global Economy Part III: West in Decline and Still (Largely) in Denial 6. Global Financial Crisis as an Accelerator of Damaging Long-Term Trends 7. Intra-European Divergences at the Time of Crumbling Welfare State 8. How Much of American Exceptionalism is Still Left in the Europeanized United States? 9. Underpinnings for Scenario Postscript - Back to the Future Index

Despite the economic uncertainties that have affected the world economy, alternative economic development strategies receive very little attention in the published literature. When academics compare certain strategic features or assess the performance of different strategies they rarely factor in outcomes. This book seeks to address that gap and to provide a theoretical background to the shift from industry to human capital intensive services as the engine of economic growth. Pioneering studies reveal interesting trends and patterns that point to the growing importance of the mostly intellectual property-based intangible capital in relation to the level of GDP. These studies also indicate that economic freedom has had a large role in bringing about this second great structural change, more than was with the case with industrialization. The author also provides an extensive assessment of four key developing countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

This book was a crucial time frame in Europe's history (ie: the period of decline and collapse of communist economic order) and later the emergence of the capitalist economic order in the post-communist Eastern Europe. Although, the last text in this book concerns Poland, the situation, apart from some Poland-specific developments, is not drastically different elsewhere.

New Europe is a rhetorical term used by some analysts to describe European post-communist transition success stories. The term implies their recent return to European, or more precisely Western civilization, but suggests - given their (forced) communist detour - that there is no single Pan-European identity in the EU. This book examines the nations that make up the so-called New-Europe (those that joined the European Union in 2004) to look at the economic competitiveness in comparison with each other and the rest of Europe.

The editor - a leading scholar on transition economics - draws together contributions from a wide range of contributors to look at this important issue. These essays stress the interaction between successful transition measures creating an encouraging, more transparent, liberal (i.e. free market) environment on the one hand and the inflow of foreign investors encouraged by that environment on the other.