The Transition Economies After Ten Years

Stanley Fischer and Ratna Sahay

No 7664, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: While output declined in virtually all transition economies in the initial years, the speed and extent of the recovery that followed has varied widely across these countries. The contrast between the more and less successful transitions, the latter largely in the former Soviet Union, raises many questions about the relative roles played by adverse initial conditions, external factors, and reform strategies. This paper summarizes the macroeconomic performance of the transition economies. We first review the initial conditions confronting these economies, the reform strategy that was proposed, and the associated controversies that arose a decade ago. We then account for the widely different outcomes, highlighting the role of exogenous factors and the macroeconomic and structural policies adopted by the countries. We find that both stabilization policies and structural reforms, particularly privatization, contributed to the growth recovery. We also conclude that the faster is the speed of reforms, the quicker is the recovery and the higher is growth.

JEL-codes: P2 P3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2000-04
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Note: EFG IFM
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (153)

Published as Orlowski, Lucjan T. (ed.) Transition and growth in post-communist countries: The ten-year experience. Cheltenham, U.K. and Northampton, Mass.: Elgar, 2001.
Published as Stanley Fischer & Ratna Sahay, 2000. "The Transition Economies After Ten Years," IMF Working Papers, vol 00(30).

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