The twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall saw many reflect on the political, economic and social changes of recent years. The legacy of communism and the economic prospects of post-communist countries are rigorously analysed in this stimulating study of the long term consequences of transition.

'There were pleasant and unpleasant surprises in the transition process. It certainly did not occur in a vacuum and this volume, by some of the best experts on the subject, helps shed light on long-run trends in former socialist countries.' - Václav Havel, former President of Czechoslovakia (1989-1992) and President of the Czech Republic (1993-2003)

'This is an excellent volume on the transition process from central planning to a market economy. Reflecting the views of many of the most distinguished analysts, the book provides a mature perspective on one of the most important economic phenomena of the 20th and 21st century. It is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the transition.' - Jan Svejnar, Director of the International Policy Center at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan.

Autorentext
ERIK BERGLÖF Chief Economist and Special Adviser to the President at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ELIZABETH BRAINERD Susan and Barton Winokur Professor of Economics and Women's and Gender Studies, Brandeis University, USA LÁSZLÓ BRUSZT Head of the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy LISE BRUYNOOGHE Analyst at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development NAURO F. CAMPOS Professor of Economics and finance at Brunel University, UK GIOVANNI ANDREA CORNIA teaches Economics at the University of Florence, Italy, and prior to that he was the Director of UNU-WIDER in Helsinki, Finland LIRE ERSADO Senior economist at the World Bank JAN FIDRMUC Senior Lecturer in economics at Brunel University, UK, and Research Fellow at the CESIfo Instite, Munich, Germany HEIKE HARMGART Principal economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development JÁNOS KORNAI Professor of Economics Emeritus at Harvard University, USA CHARLES MAIER is the Leverett Saltonstall Professor of History at Harvard University, USA and a member of its Center for European Studies, which he directed from 1994 to 2001 BRANKO MILANOVIC Lead economist in the World Bank Research Department, and adjunct professor at the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, USA GUR OFER Professor Emeritus at the Department of Economics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel KATHARINA PISTOR Michael I.Sovern Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, USA LEONID POLISHCHUK Professor of Economics at the Higher School of Economics, National Research University in Moscow, Russia RICHARD POMFRET Professor of Economics at the University of Adelaide, Australia, and Associate Fellow, Centre d'Économie de la Sorbonne (Axe Développement et Mondialisation), France VLADIMIR POPOV Adviser in the the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and a professor at the New Economic School in Moscow, Russia PETER SANFREY Lead economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development HELENA SCHWEIGER Principal economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development DANIEL TREISMAN Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA, and a visiting fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences, Vienna, Austria (2010-2011) MILICA UVALIC Professor of Economics at the University of Perugia, Italy, President of the Italian Association for Comparative Economic Studies (AISSEC), and a member of the UN Committee for Development Policy JEROMIN ZETTELMEYER Deputy Chief Economist and Director of Research at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Inhalt
Introduction; G. Roland Innovation and Dynamism: Interaction between Systems and Technical Progress; J. Kornai The Demographic Transformation of Post-Socialist Countries: Causes, Consequences and Questions; E. Brainerd Reform and Inequality during the Transition: An Analysis Using Panel Household Survey Data, 1990-2005; B. Milanovic & L. Ersado Twenty Years of Political Transition; D. Treisman Into the Void: Governing Finance in Central and Eastern Europe; K. Pistor The Long-Run Weight of Communism or the Weight of Long-Run History? G. Roland Misuse of Institutions: Lessons from Transition; L. Polishchuk Civil Society, Institutional Change and the Politics of Reform: The Great Transition; L. Bruszt, N.F. Campos, J. Fidrmuc, & G. Roland Twenty Years Later and the Socialist Heritage is Still Kicking: The Case of Russia; G. Ofer European Transition at Twenty: Assessing Progress in Countries and Sectors; E. Berglöf, L. Bruynooghe, H. Harmgart, P. Sanfey, H. Schweiger & J. Zettelmeyer Transition, Structural Divergence, and Performance: Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union over 2000-2007; G.A. Cornia The Long Road to Normalcy: Where Russia Now Stands; V. Popov The Travails of Unification: East Germany's Economic Transition since 1989; C.S. Maier Transition in Southeast Europe: Understanding Economic Development and Institutional Change; M. Uvalic Central Asia after Two Decades of Independence; R. Pomfret