Crisis, Stabilization and Growth

The break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, following closely on the adoptionofmarket-orientedreformsinEastern Europe, createdanew specialty within economics. The economicsoftransitionencompassesphenomenaand problems fromboth microeconomicsandmacroeconomics, aseconomistsfrom all disciplines have labored to understand the economic forces at work in the movement fromplanning tomarket in these countries. Muchhas been learned in the subsequent decade, but as the poor macroeconomic record of the economies attests, much remains to be done. In my view, our progress in understanding transition has been much more pronounced on the microeconomic questions - enterprise privatization, price liberalization, and more competitive industrial organization- than it has been on the more macroeconomic issues. I find that it is revealing to consider the latter issues through the optic ofthe saving decisions within the transition economies. This volume is designed to shed light on the difficulties in achievingdesirable macroeconomic performance in an economysaddled with the legacies ofthe Soviet Union. There are three groupsofpotentialreaders for abookon theeconomics of the transition economies, and I believe that this volume has something to offer each. Non-specialists with an interest inlearningmore about the economic development ofthese countries will find a wealth ofdescriptive information about these economies. Economic specialists and policy analysts ofthe region will find the saving-driven analysis ofthe data to be an illuminating optic on the evolution ofthe financial sector, output and inflation in these countries. Academics and scientific researchers will find that the analysis is buttressed with arigoroftheoretical and econometric technique referenced or reported in the text.

Klappentext

The break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, following closely on the adoption of market-oriented reforms in Eastern Europe, created a new specialty within economics. The economics of transition encompass phenomena and problems from both microeconomics and macroeconomics, as economists from all disciplines have labored to understand the economic forces at work in the movement from planning to market in these countries. Much has been learned in the subsequent decade, but as the poor macroeconomic record of the economies attests, much remains to be done. br/ Progress in understanding transition has been much more pronounced on the microeconomic questions - enterprise privatization, price liberalization, and more competitive industrial organization - than it has been on the macroeconomic issues. emCrisis, Stabilization/em emand Growth: Economic Adjustment in Transition Economies/em considers the latter issues through the optic of the saving decisions within the transition economies. This volume illustrates through theoretical analysis and extensive empirical testing the central role of saving in reducing inflation and restoring economic growth in the transition economies. Its chapters are a complementary mix of general macroeconomic theory, cross-country empirical analysis and in-depth economic case studies of Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Russia. These various perspectives are combined to illuminate the fundamental policy difficulties in achieving desirable macroeconomic outcomes in economies saddled with the economic and political legacies of the Soviet Union.

Inhalt
I. The Transition Economies.- II. Saving: by Plan and in the Market.- III. Considering the Competing Explanations of the Transition in Inflation and Economic Growth.- IV. The Inflationary Explosion Following Price Liberalization.- V. The Crisis Years.- VI. Directed Credits and Financial Repression in Belarus.- VII. Stabilization in Transition Economies.- VIII. Ukraine in the Stabilization Phase.- IX. Georgia: from Crisis to Stabilization .. and Then ?.- X. Fallout of the Russian Financial Crisis for the Transition Economies.- XI. Conclusions and Policy Advice.- Indices.