This book is a methodologically self-conscious and intellectually ambitious effort to advance the social science debate on postcommunist transformation beyond the limitations of its first decade. Offering theoretically innovative and empirically current analyses of fundamental economic, cultural, and political problems of systemic change and reform in central and Eastern Europe, the authors broaden and deepen the research agenda by developing a set of interrelated approaches that are cross-disciplinary, sociologically informed, historically comparative, and global. The bookOs major substantive themes revolve around problems of postcommunist socioeconomic transformations. Specifically, the book explores postcommunist systemic change, the role of religion and collective identity, the significance of trust and economic culture, patterns of state-economy interactions in enterprise restructuring, the context of EU expansion, the strengths and weaknesses of economic theory and neoliberal doctrine, and the history of ideas in the postcommunist transformation debate. Bringing together leading experts in the field to illustrate the fruitfulness of multidisciplinary analysis in understanding socioeconomic transitions, this work will be valuable for economists, sociologists, and political scientists alike.

This book is a methodologically self-conscious and intellectually ambitious effort to advance the social science debate on postcommunist transformation beyond the limitations of its first decade. Offering theoretically innovative and empirically current analyses of fundamental economic, cultural, and political problems of systemic change and reform in central and Eastern Europe, the authors broaden and deepen the research agenda by developing a set of interrelated approaches that are cross-disciplinary, sociologically informed, historically comparative, and global. The book s major substantive themes revolve around problems of postcommunist socioeconomic transformations. Specifically, the book explores postcommunist systemic change, the role of religion and collective identity, the significance of trust and economic culture, patterns of state-economy interactions in enterprise restructuring, the context of EU expansion, the strengths and weaknesses of economic theory and neoliberal doctrine, and the history of ideas in the postcommunist transformation debate. Bringing together leading experts in the field to illustrate the fruitfulness of multidisciplinary analysis in understanding socioeconomic transitions, this work will be valuable for economists, sociologists, and political scientists alike."

In The Capitalist Revolution in Eastern Europe, Laszlo Csaba offers an applied economics interpretation of the modernization attempts which followed the collapse of the Soviet empire and of the state socialist experiment. This important book presents a comprehensive overview of empirical and theoretical developments in order to analyse and interpret what common factors or trends are discernible in the transformation process. From 1989 to 1994 a loss of employment and production was recorded in Eastern Europe which exceeded that of the great depression of the 1930s. This book questions why conventional economic doctrines seem to have failed in some countries but have been more successful in others. What - if anything - went wrong with an experiment which involved some of the most prominent economists in the world? Why did shock therapy fail in Russia and why is gradualism reaching its outer most limits in Hungary? In attempting to build a bridge between abstract economic theory and the empirical material available in Eastern Europe, the author adopts a broad framework of analysis making use of data and theories drawn from sociology, history and political science. In developing an analytical framework, and through its application by a single author, this book presents a unique, authoritative perspective on the transformation of Eastern Europe. Students, academic researchers, journalists and policymakers will welcome this decisive assessment of the empirical and theoretical insights resulting from the transformation of Eastern Europe.

In this original and authoritative study of international economic relations, La szlo Csaba examines economic reforms and economic developments within Eastern Europe. He explores intra-regional cooperation and international trade, evaluating the changes within the system created by the standards and requirements of the world economy, and pays particular attention to Soviet-East European relations. The author addresses many key issues of the economic system. These include price formation in intra-CMEA trade; the impact of the settlement on transferable ruble accounts on intra-CMEA prices and finance; the consequences the CMEA's complex program of 1971 has had for trade and development and its long term target programs initiated in 1976. This analysis is supported by detailed and comprehensive references to relevant government, intergovernmental and CMEA programs, agreements and practices. Eastern Europe in the World Economy will be of interest to students and specialists in Soviet and East European studies, comparative economic systems and international politics as well as to policy makers at the highest levels.