Ten Years of Systemic Change in Central and Eastern Europe and in Russia: Results and Lessons

Abstract

About thirty countries that were still part of the world socialist system in the late 1980s now have ten years of experience with the transition to a market economy and a pluralist democracy. Can anything definite be said about the results of this experiment? Of course, not enough time has passed for an accurate and comprehensive judgment. Nonetheless, the authors of the present report are convinced that we can already perceive certain universal patterns with quite specific results.