The social consequences of reform in transitional economies
Abstract
Transition from a centrally planned to a free market economy has its social costs. These range from loss or diminution of a social welfare net to widespread unemployment. This is true of Asian countries adopting a gradualist approach to the free market, African countries forced by the IMF into structural adjustment, and Eastern European countries opting for abrupt transition. The paper explores the relative merits of two contrasting policies, paying particular attention to the gradualism of China and Vietnam on the one hand, and on the other the shock therapy of Eastern Europe, the newly independent States, and Mongolia.
Keywords
Citation
Kumssa, A. and Jones, J.F. (1999), "The social consequences of reform in transitional economies", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 26 No. 1/2/3, pp. 194-210. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068299910229578
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited