From Red To Green In East Central Europe: Transition And The Environment In Romania And Hungary¹

1 I The author would like to thank Paul Buchanan and Annmaree Herbert for their assistance and support during the development of this paper, and to acknowledge the useful comments made by two anonymous referees.

Abstract

This paper uses the wave of regime changes that swept East Central Europe in 1989 to test the hypothesis that a smoothe R transition to democracy will lead to greater success in addressing environmental issues. Changes in the levels of Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) and Sulphur Dioxide (SO₂) emissions during the transition period in Romania and Hungary are examined in relation to political and economic developments over the period in order to determine the significance of each factor in dealing with environmental challenges. The analysis shows that the stable transition in Hungary has provided an opportunity to improve environmental outcomes, whereas Romania has struggled during the transition period with limited environmental improvements. the Re does, then, appear to be a link between the nature of the transition process and environmental performance.

• Romania
• Hungary
• environment
• transition
• air pollution

Notes

1 I The author would like to thank Paul Buchanan and Annmaree Herbert for their assistance and support during the development of this paper, and to acknowledge the useful comments made by two anonymous referees.