Central and Eastern European Economies in Transition: The Contribution of the Bretton Woods Institutions

Abstract

A whole region — from Central Europe to Central Asia — has embarked on a path of transformation the extent of which has few parallels in history. Following the historic collapse of party-state domination of their societies and their economies, countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Former Soviet Union (FSU) face two daunting challenges: to move from centrally planned towards competitive market economies, and at the same time to maintain and strengthen newly gained democracies. The road is perilous — both economically and politically — and largely untrodden, although many of the individual elements of reform have been confronted before in other countries. Still fragile political systems must address the challenges of complex economic and institutional reforms in an external environment more difficult than originally envisaged and, in some cases, in the midst of rising ethnic and regional tensions. Widespread initial euphoria after political transitions in 1989 and 1991 has been replaced by a more sober assessment of the task ahead.