East Central European Economies in Transition or Environmental Impacts of Globalization and Trade

East-Central European Economies in Transition

Author: John P Hardt

This fact-filled volume makes the JEC's specially commissioned expert reports on economic developments in East-Central Europe widely available to business people, educators, and students. For ease of use, a detailed subject index has been provided in this edition. Topical coverage includes economic, political, and social reform strategies; privatization and economic restructuring; creation of financial infrastructure; defense conversion; gender issues, unemployment, and family incomes; role of Western assistance programs; integration into the world market; regional economic relationships and complete series of expert country studies - Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Eastern Germany, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

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A collection of papers assessing what has been accomplished and the obstacles that remain in the transition from communism to capitalism in East-Central Europe. The papers are arranged within four sections: the transition to market economies and political pluralism; Western assistance and integration; regional relations; and country studies. Each section begins with an overview. This assessment was initiated by a formal request from the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress to the Congressional Research Service. Some of the papers were discussed in May 1994 at a conference in Washington, DC. A compilation of statistical material prepared for the conference is included as an appendix. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Table of Contents:

	Introduction
	The Legacy of Communism	9
	The Costs and Benefits of Transition	25
	Sequencing of Political and Economic Reforms	49
	Systemic Privatization and Restructuring in East-Central Europe	64
	Post-Privatization Issues in Central Europe	87
	Banking Sector Reform in Central and Eastern Europe	111
	Defense Conversion in East Europe	133
	Gender Issues During Transition	147
	Five Years After: Reflections on the Post-Communist Transitions and Western Assistance Strategies	176
	The Role of International Financial Institutions	191
	U.S. Commercial, Political, and Security Relations	205
	The Relevance of Project Finance for Countries of the Former Soviet Union and East-Central Europe	218
	Technical Assistance Toward Restructuring and Privatization in Central and Eastern Europe	239
	Investment Needs and Financial Flows	259
	Agriculture and Food in Central and Eastern Europe	272
	U.S. Aid to Central and Eastern Europe, 1990-1994: An Analysis of Aid Models and Responses	299
	The Congressional Role in United States Assistance Policy in Central-East European Economies in Transition	336
	The Regional Role of the Former Soviet Union and the CMEA: A Net Assessment	355
	Intra-Regional Political and Economic Relations	367
	Regional Security Relations and NATO	393
	The Economic Impact of Unified Germany on Central and Eastern Europe	412
	Between Moscow and Bonn: East-Central Europe in Transition	441
	The Polish Economic Transition	463
	Hungary During 1988-1994: A Political Economy Assessment	480
	The Czech Republic: An Assessment of the Transition	506
	The Slovak Economy after One Year of Independence	518
	Bulgaria: A Country Study	531
	Political Incredibility and Bureaucratic Transition in Romania	552
	Economic Transformation in Albania	579
	Slovenia: A Country Study	599
	The Croatian Economy: Transition and Stabilization	622
	Former Yugoslavia: Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Macedonia	639
	East Germany in Transition	663
	Appendix: East-Central European Economies in Transition: A Survey of Data	677
	Index	687

New interesting textbook: Professional Work or Management Accounting

Environmental Impacts of Globalization and Trade: A Systems Study

Author: Corey L Lofdahl

The relationship between trade and the environment has become an increasingly contentious issue between economists and environmentalists. Economists maintain that trade helps the natural environment because rich countries can better afford to protect their unspoiled areas. Environmentalists counter that the pursuit of national wealth drives global environmental degradation and that free trade accelerates the process.

Instead of arguing one side or the other, this book uses new analytic methods, including a systems dynamics model, to seek an answer to the impasse. Using lateral pressure theory to account for politics within and among nations, it extends the theory's initial application (which was to explain the onset of war) to the environment by specifying additional connections between the natural and social spheres. In making explicit the complex causal connections between world trade and environmental degradation, the book finds that GNP increases in the rich, developed countries are linked to deforestation in the poorer, developing countries. It also uses insights derived from this finding to critique current trade policy prescriptions.