Systemic Change in Post-Communist Economies: Selected Papers from the Fifth World Congress of Central and East European Studies, Warsaw, 1995 ... for Central and East European Studies)

Early transition was characterized by debate over shock therapy and gradualism as alternative reform strategies. Other important debates concerned the nature of the former USSR. Was it ever Socialist and what were its laws of motion? What implications does the old system have for the course of post-communist reforms? These are among the key issues analysed in this book, through a mix of conceptual analysis and an interesting selection of country studies. Understandably it is the social, political and cconomic upheavals in the former USSR and elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe that have attracted the lion's share of attention from the academic community and the general public alike during the last decade. It is, however, also necessary to take note of the important linguistic changes that have accompanied these upheavals. Most of the papers in this volume deal with Russian which, as one of the languages exposed longest to 'Sovietization', has undergone a particularly complex process of readjustment. If it is still carly to draw definitive conclusions, each contribution from its own individual standpoint helps to provide a preliminary understanding of the new language situation of post-Soviet Russia. The remaining papers examine the Russian and Ukrainian languages, the position of Komi-Permiak, and ask fundamental questions about language and society. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Overview....Pages 1-21 Front Matter....Pages 23-23 Gradualism versus Shock Therapy....Pages 25-38 Shock versus Gradualism....Pages 39-61 The Visible versus the Invisible Hand....Pages 62-79 Road Maps to Markets....Pages 80-100 Russian Output Drop in Early Transition and its Macro- and Micro-economic Implications....Pages 101-131 Front Matter....Pages 133-133 Polish Economic Reforms in Japanese Historical Perspective....Pages 135-146 Theories of Disintegration of the USSR....Pages 147-163 Political Problems of Economic Transformation in Post-Communist Russia....Pages 164-210 Western Economists and the Transition Process in Russia....Pages 211-241 Russia’s Economic Recovery Potential to the Year 2000....Pages 242-265 Georgian Economy: Main Directions and Initial Results of Reforms....Pages 266-292 Back Matter....Pages 293-304 "Post-communist developments in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union do not follow any predetermined pattern. The authors, all of whom are leading experts in their respective fields, analyse the diversity of the experience of democratisation in a number of different settings and contexts."--Jacket Edited By Paul G. Hare. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Edited By Sue Bridger. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.