Output Decline in Hungary and Poland in 1990-91

Output Decline in Hungary and Poland in 1990-91
Author: Simon Commander
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 47
Release: 1992
Genre: Ajuste economico - Hungria
ISBN:

Two different paths to reform appears to have led to two different outcomes in economic performance. What are the lessons?

Output Decline in Eastern Europe

Output Decline in Eastern Europe
Author: R. Holzmann
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 940110283X

The first phase of transition to a market economy in Central and Eastern Europe was characterized by a sharp output decline. The fall in real GDP exceeded 20% while real industrial production decreased even by 40%. Output Decline in Eastern Europe aims at providing comprehensive, multi-factor explanations for this unique, painful experience. Various hypotheses are analyzed: credit and fiscal policies may have been too tight; the collapse of the CMEA and the USSR came as a shock; domestic producers were neither experienced, nor flexible enough to adjust the output to new patterns of demand. Output Decline in Eastern Europe contains a unique combination of authors from East and West who extensively analyze new data based on country studies. Understanding the causes of recent output decline, the subject matter of this volume may help to assess the prospects for Eastern Europe. The book is addressed to researchers and students as well as interested officials who deal with the transition of formerly centrally planned economies in Central and Eastern Europe.

The Transition in Eastern Europe, Volume 1

The Transition in Eastern Europe, Volume 1
Author: Olivier Jean Blanchard
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2008-04-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0226056813

When communism fell in 1989, the question for most Eastern European countries was not whether to go to a market economy, but how to get there. Several years later, the difficult process of privatization and restructuring continues to concern the countries of the region. The Transition in Eastern Europe, Volumes 1 and 2 is an analysis of the experiences of various countries making the transition to market economies and examines the most important challenges still in store. Volume 1, Country Studies, gives an in-depth, country-by-country analysis of various reform experiences, including historical backgrounds and discussions of policies and results to date. The countries analyzed are Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, eastern Germany, Slovenia, and Russia. Written by leading economists, some of whom helped shape local and national reforms, this volume identifies common progress, common difficulties, and tentative solutions to the problems of economic transition. Volume 2, Restructuring, focuses on specific issues of transition, including how to design labor market institutions, privatization, new fiscal structures, and bankruptcy laws; how to reorganize foreign trade; and how to promote foreign direct investment. The articles, written by experts in the field, will be of direct help to those involved in the transition process. These volumes provide a standard reference on economic transition in the region for policymakers in Eastern Europe and in western countries, for international agencies concerned with the transition process, and for anyone interested in learning about the dramatic changes that have recently occurred in Eastern Europe.

Output Collapse in Eastern Europe

Output Collapse in Eastern Europe
Author: Mr.Guillermo Calvo
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 30
Release: 1992-08-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1451848471

Real bank credit in Eastern European countries after their recent stabilization programs is shown to have fallen sharply, except in the case of Hungary. The meaning of the fall is discussed under the present value and liquidity perspectives. Moreover, it is shown that the hypothesis that output contraction may be partly due to credit contraction cannot be ruled out. The hypothesis is tested on a sample of 85 branches of industry in Poland. The rationale for expecting a connection between credit and output and policy options to attenuate the liquidity crunch in post-socialist economies is also subject to analysis.

Output Decline and Government Expenditures in European Transition Economies

Output Decline and Government Expenditures in European Transition Economies
Author: Mr.Ke-young Chu
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 34
Release: 1994-06-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1451961065

This paper discusses the role of government expenditure policies in the decline in aggregate output in European transition economies. It is argued that there is little evidence for the hypothesis that more expansionary expenditure policies would have helped to mitigate the output decline. While measurement problems allow for very preliminary conclusions, it appears that government expenditures were, generally, not a binding constraint for output. In those cases where it could be argued that government expenditures were a binding constraint, they were usually not the only one. Government expenditure levels still remain on the high side, at least when compared with European market-based economies, and there exists few reasons for pursuing expansionary expenditure policies to lift European transition economies out of the “transitional recession.” While raising expenditure levels per se is an unappealing policy choice, a further reordering of expenditure priorities is desirable. In particular, increases in the share of government expenditures on capital--human and physical--are needed to improve long-run output potential.

Poland

Poland
Author: Ms.Inci Ötker
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 132
Release: 1994-09-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781557754110

Poland's economy rebounded dramatically in 1992-93, several years after the nation embarded on a comprehensive program of economic transformation. This paper describes Polan's steps in the areas of public finance, monetary policy and financial sector reform, trade and exchange rate policy, and microeconomic liberalization, as well as the social impact of transition.

Poland and Hungary

Poland and Hungary
Author: United States. General Accounting Office
Publisher:
Total Pages: 72
Release: 1992
Genre: Economic assistance, American
ISBN:

Privatization in Eastern Europe

Privatization in Eastern Europe
Author: Roman Frydman
Publisher: Central European University Press
Total Pages: 239
Release: 1994-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9633864917

In Eastern Europe privatization is now a mass phenomenon. The authors propose a model of it by means of an illustration from the example of Poland, which envisages the free provision of shares in formerly public undertakings to employees and consumers, and the provision of corporate finance from foreign intermediaries. One danger that emerges is that of bureaucratization. On the broader canvas, mass privatization implies the reform of the whole system, the creation of a suitable economic infrastructure for a market economy and the institutions of corporate governance. The authors point out the need for a delicate balance between evolution - which may be too slow - and design - which brings the risk of more government involvement than it is able to manage. A chapter originating as a European Bank working paper explores the banking implications of setting up a totally new financial sector with interlocking classes of assets. The economic effects merge into politics as the role of the state is investigated. Teachers and graduate students of public/private sector economies, East European affairs; advisers to bankers or commercial companies with Eastern European interests.